Had enough of the 60s revival? Sick of all the Duffy’s and Adele’s of the world? Then you’re in luck, because 2009 is poised to be the year of electropop with the synthesiser replacing the guitar as the instrument of choice. Having won the thumbs up from a healthy swathe of critics, Elly Jackson, who along with her silent partner Ben Langmaid, are La Roux. From the tracks posted on their MySpace page, newcomers La Roux show a lot of promise that matches the wealth of attention they’ve suddenly been attracting – and add to that the fact they’ve been hand-picked to support Lily Allen on tour next month – it doesn’t take a genius to work out that we’ll be hearing a lot more from the south London synth duo. ‘In For The Kill’ is driven by its retro-futurist gliding synths and a hammering drum machine, but the real note of interest is the shrieking unearthly vocals of Elly Jackson. ‘Skreams Lets Get Ravey Mix’ is a proper remix, the kind that nudges the original song into thrilling new territory. The young Croydon dubstep producer Skream removes everything from the perky original bar the vocal, which, in its ominous, bass-heavy new setting, now seems replete with yearning. The sudden outbreak of old school drum’n’bass near the end is also terrific. Proof that eighties revival simply will not lie down and die, synth-pop act La Roux bring heart to electropop, a notoriously emotionally moribund genre of music. All the ingredients are there – the electro beat, the synths and a catchy hook in the chorus. Throughout ‘In For The Kill’ La Roux’s voice strains a little, pushing for notes that just aren’t quite present in her vocal range, while sat on a perfectly polished production, evoking the throwback genius of Neon Neon and The Knife. La Roux lists Depeche Mode, The Human League and Gary Numan as inspirations, making it clear that she is a child of the decade style forgot – if not the decade that music forgot. 2009 is seeing an eighties revival, add to that similar emerging talent in the form of Friendly Fires, Rex The Dog and Esser; La Roux may just poke her head out off the electro-haze.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Martin Madigan
