Ladytron Velocifero CD

Electronica quartet Ladytron makes dark, stylish synth-pop that recalls Depeche Mode, the Human League, and Berlin. With its churning electro-scapes and flatly intoned female vocals, Ladytron's music might be too pat if it weren't for their fine melodies and sense of popcraft. Luckily, VELOCIFERO, the band's fourth full-length CD, has enough of these qualities to make it one of the band's most confident efforts.
Opener "Black Cat" creeps and surges in an irresistible way, while "I'm Not Scared" soars ahead like a train to some shadowy, ominous land. The sense of cold alienation perhaps inherent in Ladrytron's initial approach is finally balanced by this overall melodic sense, reinforcing the band's status as true heirs to 1980s commercial synth-pop.
With each album, Ladytron take their sound in distinctly different directions, but the aloof, glamorous, slightly sinister and more than a little bittersweet heart of their music remains the same. The changes from 604's sweet synth pop to Light & Magic's dark electro-pop to Witching Hour's epic shoegaze didn't sound like dabbling, precisely because the band has such a strong grip on exactly what they want to express with their music. Ladytron haven't lost that grip on Velocifero; in fact, they may be holding on to it a little too strongly here. Massive and sparkling, as dark and glossy as black patent leather, the album is so sleek, so quintessentially Ladytron, that it almost feels like the band has their sound literally down to a science, fusing Light & Magic's hard-edged dance and Witching Hour's Wall of Sound into songs like "The Lovers," "Deep Blue," and "They Gave You a Name."
Velocifero does have some inspired moments, particularly at the beginning. "Ghosts" is sweetly ominous, riding a stomping shuffle beat and a careening guitar solo as Helena Marnie puts a fine point on her regrets ("There's a ghost in me/who wants to say I'm sorry/Doesn't mean I'm sorry"). "Runaway"'s punchy, cavernous sound recalls the heyday of industrial dance, which may not be such a surprise, considering that former Nine Inch Nails contributor Alessandro Cortini (also of Modwheelmood) worked on Velocifero, along with Ed Banger's Vicarious Bliss. As always, Mira Aroya acts as the acerbic yang to Marnie's ethereal yin, and she's in fine form here, particularly on "Black Cat," which opens Velocifero with a darkly hypnotic groove and a canyon-deep bassline, and on the quirky "Kletva," a cover of a song from a Bulgarian children's movie that brings back some of the playfulness Ladytron largely abandoned after 604. However, as Velocifero unfolds, the songs aren't quite as memorable as they've been on previous albums, and a few ("Burning Up," "Tomorrow") are downright dull and repetitive. The taut, tribal "Predict the Day" and "Versus," a symphonic synth pop duet, close the album on a strong note, and there are more than enough bright spots for fans to enjoy, Overall, though, Velocifero isn't as dramatic a step forward as Ladytron's other albums. ~ Heather PharesAlternative Press (p.174) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Whether they are dabbling in Bulgarian chamber-pop with 'Kletva' or funking shit up for the death-disco detonator 'Deep Blue,' Ladytron suddenly sound every bit as awesomely eclectic as, well, SOFTCORE JUKEBOX."
Magnet (p.107) - "[T]here's no mistaking the songwriting craft that's always set Ladytron apart from its plastic contemporaries, and the melodies here might be the band's strongest yet."
Blender (Magazine) (p.73) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "'Black Cat' has hypnotic keyboard drones, heavy rock percussion and psychedelic guitar drowned in echo and reverb, as ARoyo sings surreal poetry..."
Paste (magazine) (p.68) - "Never before has Ladytron sounded so sinister, been so danceable and connected so well with its audience."
Clash (magazine) (p.128) - "Their expert use of classic analogue synths only adds to their unique, retro futurist sound."