La Roux
La Roux
Rating: 7.7/10.0
Recommended Tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6
RiYL : Eurythmics, Little Boots, Lykke Li, Pet Shop Boys, Human League
Let’s float back to yesteryear for a second… Ok, 1983 to be exact. This year brought us the movie Flashdance, the chicken McNugget, and an album entitled Sweet Dreams that catapulted the Eurythmics into stardom. Perhaps this was the point in time that the British duo known as La Roux realized that synthpop was their musical calling. Their self-titled debut album gives ample proof of that.
What exactly is synthpop, you ask? It’s an avant-garde subgenre of pop and electronic music where the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. Simple enough, right? Not so in La Roux’s case. La Roux not only dishes out the full extent of the duo’s synthpop sound, it also throws out some surprisingly folk-inspired tracks, which can be attributed to childhoods spent in parental record collections. “I’m Not Your Toy” has a trace of breakbeat in it, making it a bit more club-friendly than say, the balladsy “Cover My Eyes”.
But don’t mistake this record for a dime-a-dozen, Lady Gaga-esque club banger, oh no. What Lady Gaga brings in overtly sexual lyrics and a wardrobe to match, La Roux challenges with raw vocal talent and a discreetly 80’s inspired look. Needless to say, the frontwoman of La Roux, Elly Jackson, has a Flock of Seagulls-inspired coif that raises eyebrows, but what really gets you about the girl is her “I don’t do smiling because I want you to take my music seriously” fledgling attitude. Jackson wants it known that La Roux is reviving the 80’s in a big way.
Yes, this album does just that, but, at times, one craves a change of pace, or at the very least, a lowering of Jackson’s mostly-sky-high and sometimes faltering pitch. However, those detractors can be easily remedied with remixes and several top notch electronic music producers are taking serious note of La Roux’s remix potential. Skream’s dubstep mix of “In for the Kill”, DJ Zinc, Data, or Foamo’s electro versions of “Bulletproof”, and Jack Beats’ take on “I’m Not Your Toy” all do brilliant jobs of broadening La Roux’s target audience.
La Roux isn’t just a cheap take on your fanny-pack-toting uncle’s 80’s music. In Jackson’s own words it’s “updating that era, mixing analog melodies and loops with the trashy beats of modern dance music.” Nicely done, La Roux. Nicely done.