If you’re a fan of the disco era or just enjoy dancing to synth-pop beats while rocking feathered hair and neon colors, Goldfrapp’s fifth album, Head First, is the CD for you. However, if you’re a fan of witty lyrics, unique sounds and risk-taking, this is definitely NOT an album you should bother with.

Released on March 22 via Mute Records, Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory managed to produce a piece that is plagued with the sounds of Olivia Newton-John, Magic FM, ABBA and even Kylie Minogue, which I guess you could consider a bit of risk-taking. That is, if risk-taking were defined as an attempt to re-release other musicians’ hits and shoot them to the top of the charts once again.

I can’t complain when it comes to this duo’s synth hooks though. Their track, Rocket, has some killer hooks and definite Top 40 potential. Not to mention, Alison’s killer vocal performance on the track manages to have both a determined and humorous sound to it. Believer furthers this Top 40 potential with its electronic sound and catchy chorus. The album, however, pretty much loses it after that.

Granted, I Wanna Life is a catchy dance tune, but it’s also incredibly predictable, and I’m pretty sure I’ve heard this melody before. Alive is another one of those heard-it-before tunes, exuding ABBA with its instrumentals.

Hunt, a later song on the album, almost drew me back in. The lead-in to the track has a fun, pulsing beat, similar to that of Euro-pop. Alison’s vocals join in about 15 seconds into the song, and that’s where it lost me, again. Her breathy, semi-seductive vocals are just too much on this track and have a hard time meshing with the instrumental side of it. I found the repetition of “hunt” being said in the background of the song to be even less appealing. This repetition returns once again in their closing track Voicething, which really should have just been titled Outro since it has no clear lyrics and just sounds like a series of coos and panting.

All in all, Head First will make for some nice background music as a party, but it’s missed its era otherwise. It really is a great culmination of 80s music. However, it should have been released 30-35 years ago when the ABBA generation was still hanging around roller skating rinks and discos, not in 2010, thus earning it a 2.5 out of five bees rating. Better luck next time, Goldfrapp.