In the five years since La Roux’s self-titled debut knocked a hole in the discerning pop fan’s summer playlist, much has changed. Two have become one, with Elly Jackson and Ben Langmaid severing ties, while Jackson has battled performance anxiety, her relationship with fame and frequent ham-fisted media jabs at her sexuality. ‘Trouble In Paradise’, then, would seem an apt title for a thunderous dud. Instead, what we have here is one of the pop records of the year.
Eschewing the TRON synths and tinny precision of ‘La Roux’, ‘Trouble In Paradise’ is more playful and more organic than its predecessor. Jackson embodies the disaffected cover shot throughout, the complexities within her lyrics adding a dark hue to a postcard picture. The album’s drive, she told the Guardian, is “the feeling of emptiness in a place where there was once joy”.
The ‘80s are still close to the hearts of Jackson and producer Ian Sherwin, but throughout they’re more likely to snatch at Bowie, Duran Duran or even Wham! than a motorik beat.
From Uptight Downtown’s Let’s Dance guitars to Tropical Chancer’s Dreadlock Holidayisms, the touchstones are familiar but refreshingly rendered. The La Roux version of beach bar fodder is mightily engaging, as it happens.
Cruel Sexuality rides a popping bassline into a layered chorus, where Jackson injects a small dose of the record’s scarred heart: “You make me happy in my everyday life. Why must you keep me in a prison at night?” Similarly, Kiss And Not Tell drips with frustration beneath a jaunty synth line: “All I want is to come out of my shell.”
At the heart of ‘Trouble In Paradise’ is Sexotheque, which pits the classic conflict of promiscuity against ‘settling down’ through the eyes of a woman left at home as her husband goes “where the red light shines so bright”. Its chorus is utterly infectious, a ball of melody of the highest order.
There are moments when things veer off on unproductive tangents - the outros of Silent Partner, which sounds like the Raccoons theme tune had Cyril Sneer been the hero, and Paradise Is You - but this remains a rare example of a record whose tracklist is made up solely of potential singles. Call it another throwback, call it old-fashioned, call it whatever; this is a comeback of real quality and a very pleasant surprise as a result. You can scratch La Roux from the one album wonder list right away.
La Roux Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Wed November 05 2014 - GLASGOW O2 ABC
Fri November 07 2014 - LEEDS Metropolitan University
Sat November 08 2014 - BIRMINGHAM Institute
Mon November 10 2014 - BRISTOL O2 Academy Bristol
Wed November 12 2014 - LONDON O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire
Fri November 14 2014 - NORWICH Norwich Uea
Sat November 15 2014 - OXFORD O2 Academy Oxford
Sun November 16 2014 - MANCHESTER Ritz
Wed November 19 2014 - BELFAST Limelight
Thu November 20 2014 - DUBLIN Academy
Click here to compare & buy La Roux Tickets at Stereoboard.com.
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
.jpg)
