Tales of Us

Goldfrapp began recording the album in April 2011 in the English countryside and mixed it in London. Nine of the ten titles are people's names, the exception being Stranger. Annabel was inspired by Kathleen Winter's 2010 novel of the same name, and Clay is based on a letter written by the World War II veteran Brian Keith to his lover, another soldier.

The duo played the album in full with a 24-piece orchestra and choir on two nights in July 2013 at the Manchester International Festival. A thirty-minute film anthology co-created with Lisa Gunning followed five characters and was shown in cinemas on 4 March 2014, followed by a live performance from AIR Studios in London.

Reception

It debuted at number four in Britain with 13,817 copies, the duo's fourth consecutive top ten studio album. The Guardian's Dave Simpson said it returned closer to the debut and called Clay stunningly moving, but found it a more mesmerising soundscape than a collection of genuinely outstanding songs. Pitchfork's Andrew Ryce called it a thin record, though he found Annabel arresting.