#also!! do you remember the monster carnival essence???? i do :] it's coming back with it's part two but that will be it's own separate post

[letterboard-fantasy]

The Theatre of Darkness | Upcoming Essences

"Not everything that moves is human. Some of these things are creatures from the darkest depths of the abyss, waiting to call out to you and drag you down. Keep your wits on you, kid."

Creating the essence lists for some future essences in the Theatre of Darkness Series!! You can drop OCs in these essences, and in as of the essences as you'd like! If you ever wanna talk about ToD, I've got a discord and a brain full of brainrot >:) and so does fifi/hj/lh

Spots in bold text are taken, while the unbolded text is not <3 Also!! Color Coding!! Red text will symbolize the bad guys, green text will symbolize the good guys, and orange text will represent characters with a secondary skin, also known as an abyssal or alter skin! [For example, Midnight Phantom or Broadcaster :)

The Theatre of Darkness: Deep-Cut Poetry

"Have you heard? There's supposedly an old abandoned 4th floor to the school, but for unknown reasons, they shut the whole floor down and demolished it one winter... and yet, some students see stairs on the third floor at night that aren't there during the daytime..."

Essence S-Tier | Safety Lullaby [ Drakaina | @ask-idv-drakaina-dragonhunter ]

Shop S-Tier | Rather Be [ Lenore ]

Essence A-Tier | Love Poem

Essence A-Tier | Forgotten Poem *this character is canonically a girl

Shop A-Tier | 4th Floor Dissension *this character is canonically a guy

Shop A-Tier | Bound to the Past

Essence B-Tier | Warning Sign [ Dragon Hunter | @ask-idv-drakaina-dragonhunter ]

Essence B-Tier | Missing Assignments

Essence B-Tier | Past Literature Club [ Delora: Elaine ( @idv-thespians ) | Jessie: Open | Danni: Open ]

Essence B-Tier | Ghost of Spite

The Theatre of Darkness: Hotline 2047

"You got a ticket for the subway? If not, I'm afraid you gotta SCRAM."

Essence S-Tier | Gamebreaking Glitch *this character is canonically a guy

Shop S-Tier | Mysterious Shopkeeper *this character is canonically a guy

Essence A-Tier | Amusia

Essence A-Tier | Gracefield Protagonist [ Gracie ]

Shop A-Tier | Otherworldly Guest [ Harlequinn ] [ bitch/j Liam Hubert : @idv-thespians ]

Shop A-Tier | Passenger in Blue

Essence B-Tier | Subway Worker [ Watchman | @ask-the-watchman ]

Essence B-Tier | Light Switch

Essence B-Tier | Sweeper

Essence B-Tier | Stranger Danger

[lovejustforaday]

Favourite Albums Review - Seventh Tree by Goldfrapp

Seventh Tree - Goldfrapp

Main Genres: Folktronica, Indie Pop, Art Pop

A decent sampling of: Dream Pop, Chamber Folk, Neo-Psychedelia, Baroque Pop

“木漏れ日”, or “Komorebi”, is a word that only exists in Japanese. It describes the mystifying visual phenomenon that occurs when sunlight passes through a canopy of trees. Light filters through the leaves and changes slightly in hue according to the colour of the leaves.

At its core, Seventh Tree feels like a musical interpretation of the komorebi phenomenon. Shimmering in a haze of green and golden light, Goldfrapp’s fourth and greatest LP is a lush, fleeting, and pastoral record. With airy sound production and a prevailing sense of the ephemeral, the album pairs beautifully with the transition from Summer to Autumn. Likewise, I make sure to revisit it every year during the month of September, and every time I am once again completely floored by just how any group of artists could ever achieve and maintain such a perfect sound.

Goldfrapp’s debut was undoubtedly a hard act to follow. The British duo of Will Gregory and Alison Goldfrapp came on to the scene with Felt Mountain, an unexpected masterpiece marked by atmospheric alien worlds achieved via surreal studio sounds, filtered through film noir and golden age Hollywood aesthetics. The album went Gold in the U.K. and was even shortlisted for a Mercury Prize.

But where to go from there? Goldfrapp’s initial response to their immediate success, as well as their initial approach in attempting to exceed the heights of their debut, was to amp up the fun factor of their music tenfold.

Thus, the follow-up records Black Cherry and Supernature were mostly sassy electroclash romps chock-full of sexual innuendo (especially Black Cherry) and sing-along pop hooks (especially Supernature).  Very solid records in their own right, yielding some excellent singles like “Twist” and “Ooh La La”, but ultimately lacking the consistency and grandeur of Felt Mountain.

But then something great happened.

Alison and Will had long been inspired by nature and especially animals as symbolic motifs throughout their career. But for their fourth record, Goldfrapp decided for the first time to make an album that actually sounded like it came from the natural world. They allowed their trademark electronic inventions to take on a more supportive role, blending into the background seamlessly with gentle acoustic instruments, creating a uniquely harmonious folktronica sound.

The lyrics also take on a much more prominent role than on their previous records, delving deep into themes of innocence, tragedy, superficiality, and the ever-changing state of nature. Revealing both elements of poetic sadness and dark humour inherent to the many unfortunate conditions of human behaviour, Alison is found pondering over topics such as plastic surgery (”Clowns”) and cults (”Happiness”) throughout the course of the album.

The title Seventh Tree itself came to Alison in a cryptic dream. Visually and musically, the duo became particularly inspired by woodland imagery, as well as the symbol of the harlequin, a free-spirited and whimsical character found in traditional Italian theatre. These influences translate to an atmosphere on the album that feels elusive, wispy, and at times even day drunk.

“Clowns” introduces the sensory world of Seventh Tree with the record’s purest, most delicate folk song. Accompanied by faint swells of chamber strings over a steady and serene acoustic guitar riff, Alison Goldfrapp just barely enunciates her way through slurred, childlike speech, with similes about fake breast implants and clown balloons. The narrator here is almost certainly a little girl, failing to understand the reasons why an older woman would want to undergo surgery just in order to gain bigger breasts, thus emphasizing the blissful naivety of childhood that can never truly be recovered by an adult. More than any other track on the record, “Clowns” embodies the very essence of Seventh Tree, presenting a sylvan vignette that captures a very simple moment of human vulnerability.

The following track “Little Bird” introduces synthesized elements, starting off soft and sweet before blooming into a rippling display of psychedelic folktronica, with words inspired by the surrealist poetry of English artist Edward Lear.

“Happiness” is a carnival world of sunshine baroque pop appearing almost too picturesque, with stomping parades of dizzying horns and synths. The entire song presents a brilliantly perverse and whimsical satire of the ways in which cults advertise themselves in order to prey on lost and impressionable people. Alison’s promises of everlasting happiness are soft and enticing, but ultimately betrayed by the sinister undertones of her phrasing; you can practically visualize her forced smile and a morphine injection needle being clenched in the fist that she hides behind her back.

“Eat Yourself” sees Alison revisiting the vocal stylings of “Clowns” with a sauntering folk tune that reverberates like the footsteps of a gentle forest giant. Touching on feelings of loss, the title refers to one of the song’s only decipherable lines (without the use of liner notes), offering a particularly grim sentiment: “If you don’t eat yourself no doubt the pain will instead”.

Seventh Tree’s most sober undertaking is “Some People”, an indie pop carol that gradually forms a chiming ecosystem of sounds around a series of golden piano chords. It also serves as the definitive representation of the record’s central themes, listing off human vices and eccentricities with a listless, breezy attitude, as if the duo are accepting all of the good, the bad, and the strange things in the world.

And then, with all the stillness of an early morning mist, “A&E” merges with the listener’s imagination. A sentimental love song on its surface, this piece actually tells the story of a miserable, heartbroken woman who wakes up in a hospital bed, slowly remembering the details of the night before when she had attempted to overdose on pills and kill herself. It alll feels incredibly real and tangible, the way it so vividly captures the state of having a mental “reset” in the flow of the mind's stream of consciousness.

Precious few moments in music have ever struck me so profoundly as did the moment when I realized what kind of story Alison had been weaving on this track. With the brilliant execution of its concept in marriage with some the most crystal clear and subtly detailed production I have ever heard, this track earns the title of being my favourite Goldfrapp song. Altogether, “A&E” is a dreamy and sweetly cruel ballad that manages to embody the very zenith of story-telling through songwriting.

Things take a lighter turn for the last three tracks. “Cologne Cerrone Houdini” is an ornate psychedelic trip that pays musical homage to the sound of 60s hippie culture and the summer of love (as do many tracks here, to varying degrees).

Penultimate track “Caravan Girl” is a great big pop song celebrating wanderlust, with an insanely euphoric grand finale of exhilarating snare drums and a wave of soaring crisp bit-pop synthesizers, like 8bit butterflies flying across a 4k blue sky. Keyword for the production on that last part of the song is “orgasmic”.

Things are wrapped up quite nicely with “Monster Love”, an all-too-tender, folky dream pop serenade of mixed feelings that Alison Goldfrapp dedicates to her time on tour as an artist, particularly reflecting on her time in the glamorous but shallow world of Hollywood. It’s a very fitting ending; the song ties together the lyrical commentary and the musical spirit of Seventh Tree, retreating back into the ether with its closing lines “Everything comes around / Bringing us back again / Here is where we start / And where we end”.

Seventh Tree is my personal gold standard for an album listening experience. The record is its own masterclass in creating a diverse but cohesive sonic world, with songs that are varied but thematically linked, and with textural motifs that are revisited in many different ways over the course of the album. Will Gregory is a stellar lead producer; the man is clearly a master of detailed perfectionism, and this record in particular still sounds fucking immaculate 13 years later. Alison Goldfrapp herself proves that she is a wise and contemplative spirit with the beautiful voice of an immortal forest faerie.

On some days, this is my favourite record ever (the days when it isn’t that other one). Give this a listen if you haven’t already. Allow yourself to be cast in the verdant light and the mystifying shade of the towering Seventh Tree.

10/10

highlights: “A&E”, “Clowns”, “Happiness”, “Eat Yourself”, “Caravan Girl”, “Little Bird”, “Some People”, “Cologne Cerrone Houdini”, “Monster Love”, “Road To Somewhere” i.e. everything