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Album Review: Ladytron, "Velocifero" (Nettwerk)
Indie electronic-pop sensation Ladytron beckons listeners to the dance floor with its fourth album, and Nettwerk label debut, “Velocifero,” an addictive collection of synth-pop hooks and raging party energy.
Massive vintage keyboard sounds and stylish, unapologetic vocals make up the bulk of “Velocifero.” While none of the tracks are especially experimental or shocking, they are consistently fast-paced, catchy and danceable. “Black Cat” starts off the album with a powerful, urgent bass rhythm that escalates, while vocalist Mira Aroyo maintains a steady, demanding lyrical chant in her native Bulgarian tongue. The track is a climactic, anxiety-inducing opener that acts as a warm-up for what follows.
“Velocifero” literally means “bringer of speed.” The title seems appropriate, since the thrill of momentum and climaxing layers of sound seem to be the inspiration for these 13 songs. Assisting with “Velocifero” production were Vicarious Bliss (Justice, DJ Mehdi) and Alessandro Cortini (Nine Inch Nails), who helped to bring more focus, cohesiveness and new dimensions (incorporating moodier, heavier elements) to the quartet’s previous electronic pop-oriented sound.
The brightest and most instantly-satisfying tracks are “Ghosts,” “They Gave You a Heart, They Gave You a Name” and “I’m Not Scared”-- all of which could become DJ-set staples. More introspective, dreamy tones are set with the hypnotic “Deep Blue” and wandering soundscapes of “Season of Illusions.”
The downfall of any dance music is that club beats can quickly become repetitive. For Ladytron, monotony creeps in about midway through the record, but the music’s saving graces are the enormous new wave ’80s bliss and Aroyo’s sexy words of bitterness or indifference. On “Burning Up,” she starkly repeats: “I wrote a protest song about you, about you/Set off on a long march without you, without you.” It’s these moments that make joining her protest feel worthwhile, and, ultimately, there are enough infectious, impassioned points--lyrically and musically--to make “Velocifero” a must-have collection of dance songs.
