Goldfrapp

Alison Goldfrapp — England's eccentric queen of ambient trip-hop, electronica, and assorted sonic weirdness — has one of the most distinctive and appealing catalogues in alternative pop. She worked with the likes of Tricky and Orbital before hooking up with studio magician Will Gregory under the banner Goldfrapp to beguile us with "Lovely Head" from 2000 debut Felt Mountain and grind up a dance-floor tease with 2005's "Ooh La La." Goldfrapp's club stunners share space with folkish soothers, in Next Steps.

The entity we call Goldfrapp is equally persuasive delivering moody, unnerving tunes as it is unleashing futuristic disco stompers. Black Cherry (2003) showcases these shifts in vibe and tone: album opener "Crystalline Green" slinks along with simmering eroticism while "Train" fizzes and whip-cracks its way to dance-floor delirium. Seventh Tree (2008) marked a sharp digression into psychedelic folk . . . to enchanting effect: check out the rustic gorgeousness of "Clowns."

Alison Goldfrapp began her play for our affections by taking a sultry-but-brainy approach to pop. Her debut album, Felt Mountain, blended allusions to coolly overblown European cinema (the spaghetti western-like whistling on "Lovely Head") with a trippy dose of mystery that had us well and truly intrigued. Since then, she has mutated into one of the world's sexiest club icons — on the album cover for 2005's Supernature she presented herself as an android stripper from the future, with one foot in 1930s Berlin. Then there was her 2008 reinvention for Seventh Tree as a sun-dappled folk nymph. For our money, she can do no wrong — we are not worthy.