Another weekend, another festival. In a climate where even comedy acts like the Mighty Boosh are staging their own festivals, Lovebox Weekender must be doing something right to mark itself out from the crowd.

Now in its seventh year and still selling out, the glorious sunshine will have helped cement the festival as a staple for next year, as will Goldfrapp's exceptional performance.

Appearing in a multi-coloured winged top, flanked by a six-piece band dressed all in white, Alison Goldfrapp looked and sounded like Madonna's stranger sister. The vocalist delighted the crowd with an eclectic set, which started at winsome folk and ended at glam rock. In between came the majesty of Monster Love; the psychedelia of Happiness, where she was joined by four musical Tellytubbies; and the electronica of Train, which came complete with two bikini-clad dancers wearing wolf masks. Only the tower blocks looming in the background confirmed that we were still, indeed, on planet earth as the thudding electronica of Strict Machine kicked in and gave the set the triumphant finish that it deserved.

This was a good as it got. Up next came The Flaming Lips, whose space rock never got off the ground. The San Franciscans may have 11 albums to their name but with only a handful of hits this side of the pond they lacked the anthems to sing the festival home. "Please sing along, even if you don't know the words," pleaded frontman Wayne Coyne to a muted and steadily depleting crowd. Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, Pt 1, prompted a light singalong, while The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song gave even first-timers a pretty decent clue as to what the lyrics might be.

Free Radicals nodded at the funk of Prince's Kiss and Fight Test showcased Coyne's keening voice, which echoed the trembling tones of Neil Young. Throughout, the band were flanked by excitable dancers dressed in superhero costumes. While this added a further sense of wackiness to things, there was a feeling that the party was already over.

As parties go, though, this was mostly a success: great weather, a good atmosphere and one exceptional band. It wasn't quite love, but Lovebox is worth a second date next year.