La Roux
Sidetracked
Renaissance

La Roux’s selection for this instalment of Sidetracked helps tell the story behind the music which inspires Ella Jackson to create her own. Opening with numbers from Japan, Heaven 17 and the glorious Euro-beat syncopation of the Hally & Kongo Band you get the general picture but aren’t really that surprised by the nature of the electronic selection. So it’s perhaps even more revealing when 60’s icon Doris Troy and 70’s artist Gerry Rafferty are played alongside everything else on offer. Also praiseworthy here is the inclusion of some lesser known but notable moments from the eighties such as from Ellis, Beggs & Howard plus Freur, with more recent music coming from I Blame Coco and La Roux’s rather tasty version of the Rolling Stones ‘Under My Thumb’.

4 Out Of 5

Reviewed By: Greg Fenton