Albums to watch

La Roux

La Roux

La Roux

Debut from the British electro-pop duo, singer Elly Jackson and producer Ben Langmaid

ADM rating[?]

6.8

Label
Polydor
UK Release date
30/06/2009
  1. 9.0 |   NME

    Remarkably, with this astounding debut, an unassuming 21-year-old from SW2 has revitalised a forgotten form to make one of the finest forward-thinking British pop albums of recent memory. Sweet dreams are made of this, indeed
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  2. 9.0 |   The Quietus

    A perfect blend of razor-sharp pop hooks and lush 80s electronica that pitches itself firmly in the same synth-laden territories as The Human League and The Pet Shops Boys but infuses it with a jolt of modern day electricity… To go from pulse-quickening smash hit-singles to heart-breaking ballads without missing a beat is pretty special, but then, La Roux are pretty special in general
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  3. 8.0 |   Daily Telegraph

    The songs are so insistently poptastic the defiantly amateurish production takes on the sheen of genius
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  4. 8.0 |   The Observer

    There's an intriguing synthetic wheeze lurking in the upper reaches of Jackson's vocal range. Those who feared this effect might pall over a whole album will find solace in the unexpected emotional intensity of her lower register.
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  5. 8.0 |   Clash

    Of course, everyone’s going a bit ‘80s at the moment, but La Roux’s debut is the ultimate expression of our newfound love for that once-maligned decade
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  6. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    It may not date particularly well, and Jackson’s love-it-or-hate-it falsetto often sounds like it’s about to collapse at any given moment. As an encapsulation of the girl-power zeitgeist, though, La Roux is an undoubted triumph
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  7. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    The girl with the androgynous look and a penchant for the higher register may yet see off the much-vaunted Little Boots. But music isn't a competition, right? No, it's much more than that, it's a career and in these testing times you've got to strike while the irons hot. So far 2009 belongs to La Roux, the rest are just playing catch-up
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  8. 8.0 |   Rolling Stone

    … an extra jolt of glam arrogance.
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  9. 7.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    La Roux's tunes aren't always totally original either – ""In for the Kill"" is based on the theme tune from the 1980s cartoon Pole Position, while the new single ""I'm Not Your Toy"" borrows from Prince's ""When Doves Cry"" – but then whose are?
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  10. 7.0 |   Pitchfork

    There isn't a single duffer on the whole record, as each song offers its own spot of fun even if it fails to deliver a hook that demands to be shouted from rooftops.
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  11. 6.0 |   The Guardian

    La Roux's immediate future looks assured: what happens after that remains to be seen. After all, you can't sound like Blancmange forever, as the former members of Blancmange would doubtless tell you
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  12. 6.0 |   The List

    Despite all its foibles and frustrations — and there are many — La Roux is still great fun to listen to. It might not stand up to any chin-stroking, muso boy analyses but it makes you feel good. Just like great pop music should
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  13. 6.0 |   The Observer

    Elly's voice is still young, a little thing, fine in the lower registers but tinnitus-triggering when she gets up high. God knows what it's like for the dog. A few remixes, however, and this album will be splattered all over the summer.
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  14. 6.0 |   The Times

    Tempting as it is to build an entire body of work around the excited noise that synthesizers make when they hear their owners' keys in the door, history has shown us that such slavish loyalty to the sound can yield diminishing returns. When, after all, was the last time you bought an Erasure record?
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  15. 4.0 |   Scotland on Sunday

    Eighties pop music was never this dull, because back then it was all fresh and new
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  16. 4.0 |   The Independent

    To hear Depeche Mode wrestling the primitive synthesiser technology of 30 years ago into bold new sounds from the frontline of future-pop was, in its day, an exciting experience. To hear those exact same sounds now glibly accessed via foolproof modern equipment, with no compensatory increase in imagination, is to witness ambition crumbling at the first hurdle of originality
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  17. 4.0 |   Evening Standard

    Long before the halfway point you're so desperate for a change of pace that the London Community Gospel Choir steal the show when they arrive to work heavenly wonders with Cover My Eyes
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La Roux: La Roux

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  • 2. Tigerlily £0.99
  • 3. Quicksand £0.99
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  • 5. Colourless Colour £0.99
  • 6. I'm Not Your Toy £0.99
  • 7. Cover My Eyes £0.99
  • 8. As If By Magic £0.99
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  • 10. Reflections Are Protection £0.99
  • 11. Armour Love £0.99
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