La Roux - Trouble In Paradise
Trouble In Paradise
La Roux
Tiger Rating: 7.0 / 10
Pop / New Wave / Alternapop
Achieving near universal acclaim with her bubbly, attitude driven 2009 single 'Bulletproof', singing hairstyle Elly Jackson is back, this time sans music partner Ben Langmaid. La Roux may have ditched the absurd hairdo, spunky attitude and partner in musical crime, but she is sounding better than she did on her breakthrough debut and proving that she's not ready to leave the multi-coloured spotlight just yet.
'Trouble In Paradise' is a near flawless piece of genuine art pop (not the contrived tripe that Gaga serves up). Decked out in spangled shoulder pads and warbling her way through an emotional haze provided from the smoke machine in the corner of the room, Elly has carefully crafted every track to be single material, in both senses of the word. It is very reminiscent of all good 80s heartbreak soundtracks, and in a big way it stands out from all the other bands and artist's jumping on the New Wave band wagon. And whilst she may be applauded for resisting the temptation to stuff it full of tracks or to travel down the cliche route and get featured artists in on it, the album plays it slightly too safe in the name of cohesion.
Scant on inspiration but full on sound, 'Trouble In Paradise' stretches thoughts to breaking point over each track. The opening 'Uptight Downtown' says what it needs to say in one verse, and then repeats the thought over multiple choruses. The 'She Works Hard For The Money' intro to 'Silent Partner' is a prelude to the most 80s moment on the album, the track fading out and then back in again, for another 2 and a half minutes of synthy, saxophone solo. 'Sexoteheque' is probably the best track on the album. An insanely catchy little ditty about a cheating partner who apparently prostitutes himself at a sex / disco every evening. Cute.
If anything this album is shallower in lyrical content than her previous, with Elly relentlessly exploring the one central theme of a holiday romance turned sour. Saccharine synths and descriptions of sun drenched beaches blend the nine tracks together into a sunny mini-break, reminiscent of a Bananarama music video. Catchy choruses ensure that after only two listens you'll be singing along to the entire album in spite of yourself. But whilst it begs not to be taken too seriously, in the end there is very little to grasp onto besides it's cuteness, leaving you with nothing memorable besides the sound itself. Awkward silences between tracks and the occasional abrupt ending sound like mistakes made in post production. Drives you crazy if you're as detail focused as I am.
She may be devoid of real depth but La Roux is charming and harmless and has an ability to sound emotionally vulnerable without actually giving anything away.
Listen to if you're enjoying summer and are not keen for anything too heavy or intense. Avoid if you hated the 80s. But really - how can you?
WVS
'Trouble In Paradise' is a near flawless piece of genuine art pop (not the contrived tripe that Gaga serves up). Decked out in spangled shoulder pads and warbling her way through an emotional haze provided from the smoke machine in the corner of the room, Elly has carefully crafted every track to be single material, in both senses of the word. It is very reminiscent of all good 80s heartbreak soundtracks, and in a big way it stands out from all the other bands and artist's jumping on the New Wave band wagon. And whilst she may be applauded for resisting the temptation to stuff it full of tracks or to travel down the cliche route and get featured artists in on it, the album plays it slightly too safe in the name of cohesion.
Scant on inspiration but full on sound, 'Trouble In Paradise' stretches thoughts to breaking point over each track. The opening 'Uptight Downtown' says what it needs to say in one verse, and then repeats the thought over multiple choruses. The 'She Works Hard For The Money' intro to 'Silent Partner' is a prelude to the most 80s moment on the album, the track fading out and then back in again, for another 2 and a half minutes of synthy, saxophone solo. 'Sexoteheque' is probably the best track on the album. An insanely catchy little ditty about a cheating partner who apparently prostitutes himself at a sex / disco every evening. Cute.
If anything this album is shallower in lyrical content than her previous, with Elly relentlessly exploring the one central theme of a holiday romance turned sour. Saccharine synths and descriptions of sun drenched beaches blend the nine tracks together into a sunny mini-break, reminiscent of a Bananarama music video. Catchy choruses ensure that after only two listens you'll be singing along to the entire album in spite of yourself. But whilst it begs not to be taken too seriously, in the end there is very little to grasp onto besides it's cuteness, leaving you with nothing memorable besides the sound itself. Awkward silences between tracks and the occasional abrupt ending sound like mistakes made in post production. Drives you crazy if you're as detail focused as I am.
She may be devoid of real depth but La Roux is charming and harmless and has an ability to sound emotionally vulnerable without actually giving anything away.
Listen to if you're enjoying summer and are not keen for anything too heavy or intense. Avoid if you hated the 80s. But really - how can you?
WVS
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