Review a La Roux (La Roux - La Roux)

Member Name: Caewan

Product:	La Roux - La Roux
Date:	06/08/09 (72 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: interesting, different

Disadvantages: does not live up to the hype

My (which is, for the principles of this review 'our') journey begins in January 2009, when I read on the Guardian's online site about La Roux in 'The Ones To Watch: Best of Newcomers in 2009'. I read an interview with her, and watched a video which involved clips of her music videos, along with some backstage stuff. It was interesting, and as a fan of many genres (with a special place in my heart reserved for electronica), with a misguided patriotic belief which is less football hooligan, more 'English electronica rocks (or synths)!' which meant I was quite excited about this development.

On the 16th of March 2006 her single In For The Kill debuted at 11 in the singles chart, quickly racing upto 2. On the 22nd of June, Bulletproof swooped straight in at number 1 on the singles chart. With extensive radio coverage, there has been a distinct buzz about this band from the beginning - so, if you'll allow me, I will share with you what the eponymous debut album means to me.

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La Roux: Meet The Band

La Roux is a partnership, much like Goldfrapp or Eurythmics, between Elly Jackson ("the front" as I think of her; the face and voice of La Roux) and Ben Langmaid (a more "behind the scenes" guy, who produces and composes the songs). Elly is from Brixton, and Ben is from Glasgow; Elly is the daughter of Trudie Goodwin (best known as June Ackland on the Bill, but she flits around daytime television quite frequently too), and Ben has worked with one half of Faithless, Kubb, was one half of Huff&Herb, as well as working alone under the pseudenym Atomic. They are signed to the label Polydour Records.

Elly has shook the fashion scene with her androgenous looks and distinctive hairstyle. In her promo pictures she often looks like a comic book villain or a futuristic fashion icon. The name "La roux" means "the red" in French, not "the red haired one (la rousse)" as Elly mistakenly thought; the name was taken out of a baby-name book Elly found on the street.

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La Roux: This Is Our Sound

La Roux cites their influences as "Eurythmics, Depeche Mode, The Human League, Yazoo and Prince.", though they say in an interview that they take as much from "The Knife" as they do from "The Human League". As an electronica fan, obviously this seemed a great combination to aspire to.

Elly Jackson is on vocals, as I mentioned before, and her voice is pleasant to listen to, with a slight English inflection which is hard to put your finger on. However, her voice, against the backdrop of female-dominated pop, is hardly memorable. Occassionally she doesn't hit the high notes, which leaves less-than-enjoyable crooning, and occassionally she seems to be shouting rather than singing; often she just 'speaks' the lyrics which fall a bit flat. However, as a whole her voice suits the songs, and often her voice has emotional overtones which adds to the songs themselves.
TL;DR: 6/10

The music, as opposed to the vocals, is varied. It uses a combination of thwacking drum-machines, Nintendo-esque sounds, synths, and various other "techhy" sounds, from the blipping which could be an ever-growing hive brain at the centre of the ultraworld (or a microwave) to sampling vocal parts from other media. The effect is interesting, but rarely flows well, leaving many songs adrift - they simply aren't catchy. Because of the lack of drums or guitar, the music lacks warmth and depth, leaving many songs tinny and weak, especially with earphones (when played on a CD player, for example, usually there are other noises in the background which make the songs feel 'strong' by giving your ear something to compare it to; with just you and the music, however, there is definitely a sense of being underwhelmed). I am curious to see how such studio-manipulated sounds translate onto the live stage in La Roux's tour of Glastonbury, Reading, Oxegen and Leeds.
TL;DR: 7/10

The lyrics, I believe are written by Elly Jackson, and they do reek of 'coming of age'. A continuing theme of her songs is desire, both fighting or giving into it, and as a natural progression of that, female sexuality. Much of it is about being afraid of giving in to love, or desire (perhaps due to being scorned "this time baby, I'll be bulletproof") and wanting to know that whoever was there before (parents, a lover) will still love her afterwards, the recurring embodyment of this being the metaphor of 'holding hands'. It sort of reads like a diary of a teenager, and because of this they may come off slightly whiny.
The lyrics are tantamount to the etquisite pain and ecstatic joys of a young woman growing up in today's society, in perfectly eloquent and emotive language. TL;DR: 10/10

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La Roux: Let's Get Physical

I downloaded the album from Itunes, so I did not get the physical album in my hands at a shop. However, you can clearly the see the album pictures at the beginning of this page; red background, red hair, the quiff. Intelligent but not thrilling.

This is the tracklist, with my personal ratings by the side:

01 - In For The Kill - 10/10
02 - Tigerlily - 7/10
03 - Quicksand - 9/10
04 - Bulletproof - 9/10
05 - Colourless Colour - 5/10
06 - I'm Not Your Toy - 4/10
07 - Cover My Eyes - 6/10
08 - As If By Magic - 7/10
09 - Fascination - 5/10
10 - Reflections Are Protections - 10/10
11 - Armour Love - 5/10
12 - Growing Pains (bonus track) - 4/10

The two music videos for Bulletproof and Quicksand are up on Youtube, I'd recommend you watch them.

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Overall, I enjoyed this album, but don't buy into the propaganda of indie vs. electronica, or old vs. new. This album has a very modern feel to it, much more pop than 80s, and if you give it a good listen you'll discover other genre influences, such as 70s, gospel and of course, indie. As a summer album, its a good buy, and something a "bit different", but it leaves very little impression after the first few listens.

Summary: easy to listen to, but not very memorable