1. High Rise (4:54)
2. Destroy Everything You Touch (4:36)
3. International Dateline (4:17)
4. Soft Power (5:19)
5. CMYK (1:49)
6. AMTV (3:26)
7. Sugar (2:50)
8. Fighting In Built Up Areas (3:59)
9. The Last One Standing (3:11)
10. Weekend (3:57)
11. Beauty*2 (4:23)
12. Whitelightgenerator (3:59)
13. All the Way… (4:03)

Written by Ladytron/Produced by Jim Abbiss & Ladytron

Ladytron:

Helen Marnie — Vocals; Korg MS-2000B “Cleopatra”
Mira Aroyo — Korg MS-20; Vocals; Korg MS-2000B “Babylon”
Reuben Wu — Korg MS-10; Korg MS-2000B “Gloria”
Daniel Hunt — Roland S‑H2; Guitar; Korg MS-2000B “Ulysses”

SPUTNIK. I can’t say that Ladytron excited me that much when they surfaced around 2000–2001, which might have had something to do with the Electroclash scene they were associated with at the time. Perhaps it might have been the fact the scene was a bit remiscent of the short-lived Romo-scene or the twatty scene that spawned Robert Elms and Steve Strange and all that in the early 80s. It wasn’t a very convincing scene, despite the fact it ticked a lot of boxes I may very well have liked — so it wasn’t hard to write it off as somewhat contrived. I do wonder though, if Fischerspooner’s debut LP that stiffed and was written off as a millennial Sigue Sigue Sputnik might end up being viewed as a really influential record that dictated a change in sound apparent in albums by Goldfrapp, Kylie, Madonna, Scissor Sisters et al? ‘Tis a mainstream concern that; associated with this scene were Ladytron, whose name came from an early Roxy Music song. 

ALPHAVILLE. They were associated with Electroclash acts, while sharing common ground with folk like Add N to X, Death in Vegas (post-Contino Sessions), Echoboy & Life Without Buildings. Suitably international — a caucasian female from Scotland/a caucasian female from Bulgaria/a British born Asian male of Chinese origin/a caucasian male from Liverpool — they adopted a look that blended the military look with something not far from the early look of Gary Numan (the band make a point of playing the material ‘live’ as the first version of the Human League did). Debut ‘604’ (2001) is the one the hardcore fan’s like, though most of it was written by Hunt and associated with the Electroclash scene. Perhaps looking at the ‘conform-to-deform’ principle of bands like Cabaret Voltaire, Depeche Mode & Soft Cell they signed to Telstar (then home of Victoria Beckham and that bloke from East17 who ran himself over) where they released ‘Light & Magic’ in 2002. It sounded for the most parts like Sugababes if Rev/Vega got their hands on them and while not a perfect record, it made me interested in them & think of them beyond the ephemeral scene they had been associated with. They almost had a hit in the UK — I bet they’re huge somewhere obscure — with ‘Seventeen’, a slice of electronica located between ‘Girls and Boys’ and The Aphex Twin that repeated the lines “They only love you when you’re seventeen/When you’re twenty-one you’re no fun/They take a polaroid and let you go/Say they’ll let let you know/So come on…” The song is much more effective with the video that looks like something out of ‘Alphaville’, with a kind of teen military hoedown for the Stasi as the band gaze at them through a one-way mirror looking a bit ‘Telekon’…

CHINA. A change of label occurred once again, alongside the band becoming ambassadors for the UK and touring in China (…the first act since Wham! and Lindsay Anderson my sources tell me…), and their compilation ‘Softcore Jukebox’ which featured ‘Tron-approved acts like My Bloody Valentine (‘Soon’), The Fall (‘Hit the North’), Stereolab (‘Peng’), !!!, New Fads (‘Big’), Hazlewood/Sinatra (‘Some Velvet Morning’) and the ‘Tron (…as they’re never called…) covering Tweet/Timbaland’s electro-ode to self-pleasure ‘Oops (Oh My).’ The compilation pointed at more than a liking for electroclash, the band’s tastes suitably wide. MBV and shoegazing was a pointer for their third album, which had been initally titled ‘Fighting In Built Up Areas’ — a title most likely nixed by Universal in light of the Iraq-abortion. ‘Witching Hour’ it was…

EXPLOSIONS. My Bloody Valentine may not have been the first to offer up that droney, whoozy guitar noise that sounded like the best drugs and sex combined and shot deep into the senses. AR Kane, certain Cocteau Twins, or any manner of drones might have been there first — but the sound evoked by ‘Isn’t Anything’, ‘Glider’, and ‘Loveless’ does seem distinctive. I can detect it here and there, from the droning drum’n’bass designs of Omni Trio, to the second track on Giant Drag’s debut, to M83’s two albums (‘Dead Cities’ is the better of the two), to the career of Joy Zipper (a bit too close, especially when Kevin Shields is remixing them), and the acts who were once tagged shoegazing. Hunt was reportedly into shoegazing, so that influence becomes apparent in relation to the rock elements processed electronically here. It’s strange how the shoegazing scene coined and reviled by the UK music press has influenced acts that have followed and isn’t far from more critic friendly acts like Explosions in the Sky and Mogwai. 

SUICIDE. The blend of electronics and guitars apparent on ‘Witching Hour’ works wonderfully, though this isn’t an avant garde slice of white noise — it’s still working within a pop rubric, which I sometimes feel is a good thing (usually after about 20 minutes of ‘Metal Machine Music’). ‘High Rise’ (a suitably Ballardian-title) opens the album, a guitar drone extending into a pulse, hitting a riff, before a pulsing relentless drumbeat worthy of the best Krautrock comes in. It takes you to the centre of things, a sound not unlike early Suicide colliding with the guitars and drones, somewhere between the trademark cold vocals of Marnie (a reminder that Flying Lizards’ ‘Money’ is a key record, though I think she has a it of her from the Passions about her). Single ‘Destroy Everything You Touch’ (another Iraq War friendly title!) still sounds like the hit single that it wasn’t, a hint of the Valentine-inflected sound remains as 70s-80s electronics get a contemporary makeover — the synths at one point sound like they’re filtering decades worth of electronic music, dodgy rave and Detroit techno more than apparent as the guitars are rejigged electronically. 

NEO-CONS. ‘International Dateline’ feels like a balance of pop and Suicide, feeling quite apocalyptic with the refrain “The International Dateline…let’s end it here/Let’s end it here/Let’s end it here…” There’s also a great ‘Ipcress File’ sounding element, which suggests Ladytron are too clever for their own good and why they’ll never be a band who are raved over or shift units. ‘Soft Power’ is the title track, “broken glass is luxury/friendly fires our alchemy/daylight is the enemy/witching hour…”, as a raved up Suicide groove, waves of atmospheric keyboard and blissed out guitar come together. Apparently the lyrics might not always make sense, or appear somewhat surreal as Bulgarian Aroyo sometimes writes them, “setting fire to tourists” sounds great though. The song feels like a break down, whether from hedonism or the atrocity exhibition on TV, this is the new dark era and the term ‘Witching Hour’ seems fair enough as thousands die in the Middle East, all for evil designs of the Neo-Cons and headcase radicals in Afghanistan…

PROPAGANDA. ‘CMYK’ sounds like a blend of Air and Boards of Canada, setting the tone for the Mode-sounding ‘AMTV’ which takes us back to television, fitting in well alongside Suicide’s ‘Televised Executions.’ The lead character appears lost between time-zones, lost in television…Single ‘Sugar’ manages to blend electropop and glam rock with some great Shields/Slowdive style guitar drones and some pop repetition of the finest degree. ‘Fighting In Built Up Areas’ re-sets things following the poppy predecessors, a chanting piece that reminds me of Propaganda and one that appears to be in another language, or a combination of several. Waves of harmonic vocals, metronomic rhythms, and a sinister air — alien chants always sound like a good idea, two people saying the same babble always seems to be very effective. 

TRON. ‘The Last One Standing’ might be the ‘Tron’s attempt at Abba or the Pet Shop Boys, maybe a lost Bond theme like Japan’s ‘The Other Side of Life’? Perhaps it’s what Saint Etienne tried to sound like, but never really managed. ‘Weekend’ probably takes its title from Jean Luc Godard’s key 60s autogeddon film, another example of a band sounding like early Gary Numan/Tubeway Army, which is no bad thing anymore. Just remember to tune out around ‘Dance’ and you’ll be OK! ‘Beauty*2’ is a more minimal, downbeat piece that remains more succesful than other bands who have attempted this territory: Client, Dubstar, Technique. ‘WhiteLightGenerator’ is the most shoegazing friendly track here, showcasing the influence of Chapterhouse as well as something like MBV’s ‘Soon’ and having a feel like a more industrial Cocteau Twins. Finally, ‘Witching Hour’ concludes on ‘All the Way’ , a downbeat song that sounds like Julee Cruise at the emptiest rave, a blissed out farewell from an album that really should have made more of an impact. 

WITCHING HOUR. ‘Witching Hour’ is much better than Ladytron’s earlier releases, I just hope the record company (or another record company, since they change labels with each record!) backs them for the next one — where will they go next? I’m interested — ‘Witching Hour’ an album that made me reconsider a band I’d kind of dismissed. It’s pop, but not as we know it — and quite unsung (…unless you’re Simon Price!).