ladytron: light & magic.
when ladytron dropped their icy cool first album 604 last year, the 1980s retro electro movement was still highly underground and only had a few devoted souls outputting the new wavey synth pop. ladytron became the breakout band for what was eventually labelled electroclash, and a new nostalgic futuristic craze held up the old guard and picked up a bandwagon.
light & magic arrives with many expectations to hold the torch and press onwards and in general, the 4-piece succeed. all play electronic instruments that focus on simple melodies and song structure but with experimental rhythms and rhythms. any singing isn't done emotively; rather similar to stereolab, the female vocalists (one of which sings mostly in bulgarian) aim for a cool detachment that occasionally coos and digitally tears away.
the problem with electroclash is that as a partial nostalgia trip, it's easy to simply ape the prior art and mimic nothing new. however, ladytron skillfully avoid this most of the time, by adding the occasional other influence and maintaining a hidden warmth that acts as a groovy undercurrent that barrels along.
the album starts strong, with the opening true mathematics gliding into the dark crystal of seventeen, a warning about disposable cultural artifacts. later on, cracked lcd has a throbbing guitar that gives an organic rumble to the proceedings and evil brings to mind a no wave disco warehouse stomp. the album doesn't always work, as a few songs go on a bit too long with not much going for them, but the gems here really shine through.
if you remember commodore 64 games, hearing the blips and squawks that comprise the instruments throughout light & magic will bring a smile to your face with that recognition of early video games. if you had difficulty with the cold sometimes clinical sound, listening to the entire album in one go could give you a headache as things can get really into your head. however, don't hesitate to get a little ladytron in your system as the pop is top notch.