Amazon.co.uk Review
Is this what we once imagined the future would sound like? On
604 Liverpool-based synth-pop collective Ladytron may show all the electronic hallmarks of 1980 but they impart far less of the "New Dawn Of Technology" neurosis of their cyberphobic "Futuristic" forebears. Remember in those days how man feared the totalitarian march of the machine? How we worried that our friends might be electric? That our minds might be toys? That video would kill the radio star? That human labour would be redundant and we'd all be reduced to a Mao-suited existence in an architecturally morose metropolis? OK, so
604 does contain a few Marxist nursery rhymes (sung by stern Bulgarian female vocalist Mira Aroyo) but it also contains a version of the theme tune to 70s sit-com "Are You Being Served" (sung sweetly by the kittenish "Bond Girl" voice of Helen Marnie). Ladytron's inspired, accessible electropop is where latterday, Tarwater-style Krautrock meets the melodic nous of
The Human League, the Pet Shop Boys and Abba, with just a little bit of the socio-sexual commentary of
Black Box Recorder thrown in for good measure.
Gary Numan was never as much fun as this. --
Kevin Maidment
CD Description
Released in 2001, 604 marks the full-length debut by the Liverpool, England, electro-pop ensemble Ladytron. While the band--consisting of vocalist Mira Aroyo, vocalist/keyboardistHelen Marnie, and multi-instrumentalists Daniel Hunt and Reuben Wu--takes it name from an early-1970s Roxy Music song, its sound is rooted in synth-heavy '80s New Wave. Although the group knowingly nods to acts such as the Human League andDepeche Mode, Ladytron reveals enough energy and creativityto set it apart from its influences, placing the band in the revered company of Air and Broadcast. In fact, the breezy single "Playgirl" is a kissing cousin to the former group's "Sexy Boy," but other tracks on 604 find Ladytron stretchingout, particularly on the beat-driven "Mu-Tron" and the icy "Commodore Rock." An album that showcases the more minimal and experimental sides of the quartet, 604 lays down Ladytron's techno-rooted foundation with inventiveness and style.
