Album Review: La Roux
August 4th, 2009
La Roux La Roux [Polydor]
So what does the current infatuation of the British press have to offer those who still read/listen what it has to say? Well, if you can manage to disregard the fiery red, swoop coiff of singer Elly Jackson, the hyper stylized motif and retro fascinated artwork, La Roux is the real deal as far as music goes.
With a Mercury Prize nomination and success on the UK charts - a number one single (”Bulletproof”), a number two single (”In For the Kill”) and a number two album - La Roux’s accomplishments certainly show there is public interest. But Jackson and producer Ben Langmaid aren’t resigned to being a just a charttopper reliving the age of The Tube.
While La Roux sounds as if the duo have familiarized themselves really, really well with records of 25 years ago - their Heaven 17 and later era Human League records especially - there’s more sophistication, consideration and progression in the music than meets the jaded music fan’s ear.
Jackson’s adrogyny certainly adds to the exquisite ’80s homage, but her emotional state feels genuinely on the brink of collapse, perhaps because of the ambiguity and power ringing out of the voice in that small frame of hers. The Eurythmics comparisons are unavoidable, but La Roux are more of a futuristic pop/R&B amalgam than they are anything from years past.
The focus is all on the synths, which radiate with retro crispness, however, the enigmatic Langmaid is much punchier and inventive with his arrangements. “Armour Love,” for example, uses a rainbow of swelling keyboards more in the vein of Timbaland than Trevor Horn, while the rhythm shifts shapes to push it beyond its ballad status.
But more than anything, La Roux is an album cut for commercial consumption. Armed with more killer singles than most artists in this vein have or had over the course of a career, all three of theirs have been hits for good reason. “Quicksand” rides a fat, bass-y synth, but within there are traces of Motown and Caribbean influences deep under the skin. “In For the Kill” allows Jackson to push her range into a flamboyant falsetto as the stabbing beats bop above speed limit. But “Bulletproof” is the unanimous winner, with its irresistible, chant-along chorus, hyperactive Nintendo pulsations and that adorable robotic break down.
Though the sequencing is a bit front-heavy, La Roux never loses steam when the second half comes, thanks in large to the maturity of obvious future single “Fascination.”
In the end, the album is a testament to the quality control and forward-thinking Jackson and Langmaid maintain over a style and sound that over the last few years has been aped to death by backward-thinking artists.
Rating: A-
- Cam Lindsay
Posted on Tuesday, August 4th, 2009 at 4:06 pm by Cam and is filed under The New Music.
