2009 Album Reviews: LA ROUX

The debut album by La Roux is a winner. It is a triumph of an electro-pop album that is unashamedly full of radio friendly singles. However, underneath the funky beats and coolness is a serious take on relationships that could possibly be reflective of Elly Jackson’s own personal relationships. Songs like ‘Cover My Eyes’, I’m Not Your Toy and ‘Armour Love’ were unexpected on my first listen but are achingly beautiful and ‘Armour Love’ has since become one of my fave songs of the year. Each song is made to be a single and after hearing ‘In For the Kill’, ‘Quicksand’, ‘Bulletproof’ and ‘Fascination’ prior to the album’s release I was pretty sure that those 4 were just the best songs and the rest were going to be duds. I was wrong. There are some great moments on this record and for me the highlight is ‘Colourless Colour‘. I mean c’mon, how can you not like a chorus like,

"...Early nineties decor
It was a day for
We wanted to play
But we had nothing left to play for
Colourless colour
Once in fashion
And soon to be seen..."

I’m glad they are holding out on releasing this as a single (FYI - fourth single is I’m Not Your Toy) because it leaves listeners with room to be surprised when this thumping tune comes on. There are some bizarre moments as evident by ‘Tigerlily’ where there is this odd spoken bit which is very reminiscent of ‘Thriller’. It sounds like they used the same guy as the tone of his voice is practically the same but I doubt it because I think it’s her father. To me, it ruins a perfectly good song. Other cool songs include ‘As If By Magic’ which seems to be an interesting take on a break up song. It’s quite brilliant in that respect and not too depressing. I also must say that I was unaware of the power of Jackson’s voice as every other electro-pop singer (male or female) out there does not have the range she has or the beautiful falsetto. If she was singing in any other style people would be commenting on how great a singer she is but unfortunately the style itself has seen too many with mediocre vocal talent. I am definitely intrigued by her too as she seems to be coming to terms with her sudden rise in popularity as teens want to emulate her style. It is also good to see that a band or duo is able to share equally in the creative direction of the music even though it does seem that La Roux is Jackson.

La Roux is here to stay! This record is not just another of the many electro-pop albums released this year but the pop album of the year and it's synthesizer based which just happens to be right on trend. Also, fingers crossed they take out the Mercury Prize which is handed out in early September. Check out these RAD live performance videos if this doesn't get you hooked to La Roux then nothing will.







Just a reminder I'm also very aware of my lack of posts but I'm working on it with some new and interesting ideas that might get me posting more regularly!!!