CD review
“Light & Magic” is the sound of an apocalyptic dance party in Berlin, circa January, 2060. Singers Mira Aroyo and Helen Marnie are stone-cold Barbarellas who effortlessly make electronic music sexy again.
The Liverpool, England-based group has the ability to create synth beats that would make New Order jealous. This talent has helped move them to the forefront of the burgeoning “electroclash” movement.
The instantly contagious “Seventeen” stands out with the lyrics “He only wants you when you’re 17 / when you’re 21 you’re no fun.”
The album mixes ice and steam on the track “Fire,” which rants “The girl gets higher / the room’s on fire / if you want her, let her go.” It also mixes fiber-optics and fashion with the romantic “Blue Jeans,” and turns dilapidated technology into tragedy with “Cracked LCD.”
Like other synthcore stars, Chicks on Speed, Peaches and Fischerspooner, Ladytron are apothecaries combining the likes of Kraftwerk and Depeche Mode into a technology cure for corporate music sludge.
Overall, “Light & Magic” should prove to be an electroclash classic. An album that will serve as a schematic for bionic rock to come, it’s a paradoxical space odyssey of seediness and glamour.
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