La Roux: 'La Roux'

Round two of the three pronged attack has arrived. La Roux, the red-haired one, is actually a duo consisting of Elly Jackson and the elusive, Ben Langmaid. They are without a doubt harking back to their era of inspiration, that of 80s electro-pop. However, rather than being retrospective and full of irony the album is more an intelligent update on electro-pop. With her red quaff, androgynous look, cutting high pitch tones, synthetic wheezes, and frantic pace on songs like ‘In For The Kill’ and ‘Quicksand’, it can certainly be a little overwhelming for many. It feels as though she is commanding a rowdy ravel to conform; and if I were in the crowd I would be mercifully begging for forgiveness! However, she demonstrates her lover registry on songs like ‘Armour Love’ and ‘As If By Magic’ which contrasts sharply with the upbeat numbers. Along the way we are treated to strange synth harpsichords, the London Community Choir, processed steel drums, calypso flicks, and euphoric choruses to name just a few; it is quite a ride. Overall her music appears to posses some strange addictive quality and the played down production is arguably the key to the success here, it’s really quite remarkable!