La Roux

Flamed-haired synth pixie Elly Jackson may be one of the year’s most lauded ingenues but don’t expect to hear her clinking champagne flutes in celebration. On La Roux’s debut long-player she sings mechanically and melancholically, like a robot who’s just had its heart broken. As it happens, heartbreak is one of the recurring themes of the record – an irony considering how hard Jackson and songwriting partner Ben Langmaid work to drain all emotion both from Elly’s vocals and the vintage ‘80s beats in which they are encased. Reportedly written as she was going through her first significant break-up (Jackson recently turned 21), La Roux is an album full of admonishments, self-reflections and vows to do better next time (‘Bulletproof’ is steeped in Gary Numan sci-fi atmospherics but, at its core, is about getting over a bastard boyfriend).
While there’s not much variety, the formula Jackson and Langmaid showcase on propulsive electro dirges such as ‘Tigerlilly’ and ‘In For The Kill’ is so catchy and thrill-inducing it hardly seems to matter. Sure, the whole thing is shamelessly retro – yet La Roux do more than merely pick the pockets of the Human League and Depeche Mode. They filter pompous ‘80s electro-rock through the life experiences of a modern Londoner and come up with something that, if not quite original, is certainly unique – and weirdly emotive. If there’s a negative it’s that early single ‘Quicksand’ bears an off-putting resemblance to Prince’s ‘When Doves Cry’. Otherwise, Jackson and Langmaid prove themselves a match made in android heaven.

Key track: ‘Bulletproof’