La Roux - In For The Kill (Skream's Let's Get Ravey Mix)

It was mentioned on the dubstep thread but deserves its own. Self consciously huge, it's set up like the dubstep Born Slippy. The vocal carries the track well enough that the big spaces work, and when the breakbeat kicks in at the end it's totally obvious but still fantastic, I'd like to see an edit that went another four minutes.

vocal is bad

i had the misfortune of hearing this out a couple of weekends ago. sounds like fucking kosheen.

so nearly good but sadly that fucking voice is still there. la roux is such a loser, totally indefensible.

I refuse to listen to anything that has any trace of this atrocious fucking song in it.

i don't really rate this but not just because of the voice (which i can tolerate until after the first line of the chorus). more interested in dubbier (i.e. reduced and fx'd fragments of the vocal) 4/4 mixes of the track.

i liked "quicksand" although i've heard her other stuff isn't up to scratch.

I liked 'Quicksand' too. I listened to the original of 'In for the Kill' and, although I like some of the slightly unexpected chord progressions (which were a feature of 'Quicksand' too), I find the drum and synth sounds rather abrasive and cheap-sounding. I presume that was deliberate but to me it would have sounded better with richer, less tinny/scrapy sounding synths. Her voice seems to be in an unpleasant register as well. I wonder if the song should have been recorded in a lower key?

As for this remix, it's ok. In a way it exploits the unsettling quality of the vocals.

I'm intrigued by the 'such a loser' and 'totally indefensible' comment above? What is it you dislike so much about La Roux?

- her name. you JUST CAN'T SAY 'LA ROUX' holy shit, you idiot woman
- her opinions. "girls shouldn't play guitars or drums cuz they look butch" - please someone set courtney love on this dumb bitch
- her face. specifically the same blank, unsmiling, unchanging facial expression she wears in every photo and every video, as if it is the same thing as possessing artistic mystique. she looks like a sulky teenage girl, and not in a good way
- her voice. as blank, unsmiling and unchanging as her face. shrill, grating, nails on blackboard. one of the most purely awful sounds i've ever heard. obv she makes no concessions to "singing in key" or subtlety or nuance or emotion. completely charmless
- her music. just let the 80s gooooooo

read through that post and got to the end - was very surprised it was written by you lex.

this record is like sand in my eyes

Yeah her voice is so ridiculously autotuned I'm actually grimly anticipating the live performances because I think she may well be able to give Ian Brown a run for his money.

i mean, it's not as if it doesn't sound almost identical as annie from norway, which is either a good thing or a getting-to-be outmoded thing depending on how you look at it.

the 80s thing - '80s revivalism has been a musical staple since about '98, but it seems that this is the year the bubble bursts. la roux, little boots, kanye west, flo and the machine, all these are talking about going back to the eighties ideal of pop stars who make pop music (like MJ, Prince etc), which I like the idea of, and in that way the '80s revival could be seen as having finally saturated the hivemind conscience of '09 as opposed to being a trendy point of reference for fashionistas and musos.

it's the impending '90s revival i'm sure you're dreading lex ;-)

btw, haven't heard song above, just "quicksand" which as i say, i like well enough and doesn't seem to have much autotune.

Yeah her voice is so ridiculously autotuned I'm actually grimly anticipating the live performances because I think she may well be able to give Ian Brown a run for his money.

She sang with Franz Ferdinand at some awards ceremony and apparently it was a total car crash

i mean, it's not as if it doesn't sound almost identical as annie from norway, which is either a good thing or a getting-to-be outmoded thing depending on how you look at it.

She doesn't sound "almost identical" to Annie. This is all just the fifth or sixth reiteration of electroclash we've had this decade and it gets progressively less fun with every Xerox.

the eighties ideal of pop stars who make pop music (like MJ, Prince etc), which I like the idea of

I like the idea of that too.

Vocally and persona-wise La Roux certainly has to watch it. She does seem to be a little in danger of becoming the new Hazel O'Connor.

she doesn't sound remotely like annie

the eighties ideal of pop stars who make pop music (like MJ, Prince etc)

what does this actually mean? i'm serious, it's an idea i've seen casually referenced here and there, but it really doesn't make sense to me. or at least, it doesn't seem a specifically 80s ideal.

pop doesnt go in italics you tedious prats.

She doesn't sound "almost identical" to Annie. This is all just the fifth or sixth reiteration of electroclash we've had this decade and it gets progressively less fun with every Xerox.

Annie being about the third.

also, there isn't much connecting the aesthetics of the artists you mentioned, apart from their penchant for talking the talk in interviews - ie acting as though they have some sort of higher vision of pop than your britneys and mileys. but we all know this has no bearing on the quality of the music, right?

i genuinely do want to know why she picked "la roux" as her stage name though. that is the one question i would ask her. like, why not "la rousse"? why not go for the actual word? or "le roux" if she wants to be tediously androgynous, even

cos she thickens people.

Lex, I think it's something Kanye West was talking about in an interview I read, and he's probably getting a bit lackadaisical about it or how much you'll agree - it's the idea of going back to the idea of pop stars like Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna etc, whose persona and songwriting could be described simply as "pop" as opposed to r'n'b, rock'n'roll, boy/girl band, and appeals almost universally in that capacity.
Compared to the popstars of more recent times - Take That, Spice Girls, Girls Aloud, Beyoncé, who are arguably marketed towards more specific markets.

Don't know if that's a very good way of explaining it - I guess it's just a want to make great radio music that everyone knows and sings along to without inviting the listener to deconstruct the music too much.

I'm not sure Prince fits there

- her opinions. "girls shouldn't play guitars or drums cuz they look butch" - please someone set courtney love on this dumb bitch

― lex pretend, Tuesday, March 24, 2009 12:27 PM (28 minutes ago) Bookmark

honest wtf moment here

Set Sister Rosetta Tharpe on her

i reckon prince almost certainly does, especially with his aesthetic of introducing many many pop-elements from funk, dance, rock, hiphop into his sound without it diverging from the "pure"-pop element.

She sang with Franz Ferdinand at some awards ceremony and apparently it was a total car crash

― Sacco, Vanzetti, Passantino... (Tom D.), Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:42 (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

This was at the NME awards and is well worth checking on YouTube (if it's there) coz it was pitiful. I heard that her live performances were being limited coz she's so appalling. And only has like six songs or somthing.

i reckon prince almost certainly does, especially with his aesthetic of introducing many many pop-elements from funk, dance, rock, hiphop into his sound without it diverging from the "pure"-pop element.

He constantly diverged from pop!

I'm not a fan of their original tracks but I like the vocal on the remix much better in the context of overblown somewhat off-key female vocals in classic rave tracks.

La Roux is much better as a name than La Rousse. It's just more visually striking, ending on the 'x'. It's shorter, more graphic, harder (regardless of it being incorrect French).

grozart, i think in that paragraph you've managed to somehow do a disservice to every single artist you mentioned as well as the entire concept of pop music, well done

(regardless of it being incorrect French)

nnggghhhhhh

oh yeah and a disservice to pop fans who don't want to deconstruct anything, too

lex is boycotting "lil" kim on grammar principles now too

bah beat me to the point

Don't get him started on Mötley Crüe.

He constantly diverged from pop!

what does this mean? surely everything he did was considered as and under it as an umbrella term.

when people pine for a new Prince they're talking about an absolute 'does everything - mostly brilliantly' act and it's true there's been a figure like that missing since he set a modern standard. but i suppose people on his level only come thru once in a generation.

Not sure where the idea that Prince was totally pop comes from, he was more like Bowie

What a bad voice.

ah yes Bowie the hugely famous and successful pop star

Fair enough, I suppose Eric Clapton is a pop star too

Clapton is primarily a rock guitarist. Bowie is a CHAMELEONIC performer of excellent pop songs such as 'Starman', 'Modern Love' and, of course, 'Little Wonder'.

You Look Wonderful Tonight

... not making a point, just paying you a compliment

you are all missing the point of how bad this is. I'm still completely at a loss to why this woman is making music, who is her label owner boyfriend? I was hoping this was one of the hardcore sounding tunes skreams been playing out the last couple of months but a dubstep kosheen is completely OTM

this woman and Kosheen singer's voice are so different tho that despite some conceptual similarities i'm having trouble imagining them singing each other's best known songs

http://cache0.bigcartel.com/product_images/1930659/300.png

should have dropped a bet on how long it was before kate moross got involved.

that horse has an adam's apple

had the misfortune of hearing the original song in a shop the other day. ugh.

i really like the remix. everything is so painfully simple it really highlights that vocal. it sounds like it took about 5 minutes to make.

so i guess its a question of whether or not you can put up with the vocal. yes its overblown, epic and if you know who she is... annoying i guess. but i heard this without knowing anything about her, thinking it was just some unknown vocalist skream got to sing on a track. it'd seem silly to turn around and be all oh rite she's a dick, don't like this anymore.

hahah Lex, for a moment I thought you were on about Neil Young when you said bad voice.

And not care about music and liking La Roux could be related, but I do care about music AND I like La Roux, so how does that work out? I find your whole hatred somewhat cute.

I do have to admit that I have a very fucked up attitude when it comes to pop cult: I actually follow up on famous people I actually abhore. I know more about Katie Price than, say, my next door neighbour. So I guess I have a high tolerance for *crap* or mediocre music (or any other pop cult product). La Roux hasn't really inspired me to analyze her music or be swayed by it, I just find it enjoyable.

my knowing more about katie price - who i NEVER actively try to follow - than my next door neighbour says more about neighbourly relations ~these days~ really. i know she's japanese (have taken post for her), works from home (always bump into each other at like 2pm), lives with her bf, that's it.

seriously yeah, if anyone wants to tell me how they're ok with her horrible voice, her horrible tinny music, her horrible trite lyrics and her horrible ignorant opinions, feel free.

The synthy bit and the chorus of bulletproof are great pop rushes! They are like Negotiate With Love only slightly less good. Also the video is great, with The Future, and primary colours. Also her hair is memorable which is good in a popstar - as someone not paying much attention I cannot remember what Lady Gaga or whoever look like, but La Roux is instantly recognisable.

Her voice is just kinda neutral? It is an autotuned whatever voice, like Kimberley GA or whoever. Are the lyrics really that trite? Again they just seem pleasantly okay!

The lyrics are like something Vince Clarke scribbled on the back of an envelope and then threw away in disgust back in 1982.

it's weird that you cite lady effing gaga and her innumerable attention-seeking outfits as something less visually memorable than la roux - not into gaga at all either (though christ, am nearing crumbling point on this one) but next to her, elly jackson is an indie boy in t-shirt and jeans.

"the future" = the 80s?

idk how to respond to an argument that her piercing, nails-on-blackboard shrill is "neutral" :/

i mean gaga wore a massive bow in her hair which was MADE OUT OF HER HAIR - one stupid quiff has nothing on that

http://images.starpulse.com/pictures/2007/08/05/previews/Lady%20GaGa-ADB-013713.jpg

this is one of the more conservative Lady Gaga pics on the internet

She has brown hair in that pic and looks like Chan Marshall! That is nothing like how she looks at other times! My most reliable visual signifier for Lady Gaga is "no trousers" but she does wear them sometimes; I'd be much less confident picking her out of an identity parade than La Roux who just always looks exactly the comforting same.

Is it just me or is La Roux the most boring music ever?

The shit voice doesn't help but by golly, is it fucking boring.

I apologise if this is too obvious and/or behind the curve, btw.

kbp have u
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWmE6LwowsQ&feature=player_embedded

i still can't believe Ben Langmaid co-produced (with Rollo) this old track I liked

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNYcawl29KQ

The original "In For The Kill" is surely much, much better.

(And no wonder The Lex don't like them, as they sound like something from around 1982, i.e. before time began according to The Lex). :)

this is being used in a video game ad here in the US and damn it's pretty massive

Where did they go? At this rate they'll need another smash like "Bulletproof" or "In For The Kill", or the difficult second album will be very difficult indeed.

Waiting three years following your breakthrough album is quite a risk to take. Shame, such a promising act.

New album is going to be 'Nile Rodgers inspired' apparently. Not sure if he's had anything to do with it himself.

This still rocks the dancefloor in my experience.

Hmmm.. Nile Rodgers = great, but also known for a rather "organic" style, and La Roux is not one act that should become "organic".

she's still a vile human, but "bulletproof" is a classic

yeah I don't know how far she's going to go with the Nile thing. I'm ok with her over synthpop revival whatnot but I fear full on Chic freak would show her voice up somewhat.

not to say it couldn't be great

Chic is OK, but I don't want the synthpop revival to stop ever. It was a mistake when synthpop became untrendy in the late 80s and it will be again if it becomes untrendy once more.

Couldn't some inferior act, such as Beyonce, do the Chic thing instead?

kanye's verse from his rather dumb remix of this track contains my favorite rap lyric:

"i'm goin in, and i'ma go hard
i said what's the point if there ain't no scars
a little teeth marks? blood on the collar?
that's real love nnnnnnnngghghgnnnaannnaannnnngghhhhh [pronounced so that it rhymes with 'collar']"

Couldn't some inferior act, such as Beyonce, do the Chic thing instead?

welcome back, Geir!

I know some people hate La Roux with passion, but these tracks are sounding rather promising to my ears. And yeah, apparently Nile Rodgers is actually involved in some of the tracks, if not the whole thing. Now if only she got rid of that horrendous outfit...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLP38UkwpBw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGGdw6Na3Sc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-8r0b2yK9g

New single. Finally!

It's OK:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOTEx7p-IkM

http://youtu.be/kOTEx7p-IkM

ugh, never remember how to embed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOTEx7p-IkM

thx

Proper comeback single. Apparently "Lay me down gently" was just a buzz track. It's got Nile Rodgers' fingerprints all over it. Except I think he wasn't involved. I'm not sure about the vocals, but otherwise I love it.

i like "let me down gently" better for some reason but maybe it'll grow on me

Though I love "Sexoteque", and there's a couple of other decent tracks, the new album's definitely a step down from the first one

a friend recently recommended me their debut album and i was sceptical as i couldn't remember what they sounded like at all except remembering disliking the singles at the time but i was kinda shocked to find it some of the most viscerally unpleasant pop music i've ever heard. i have no idea how this album had multiple hits with its incredibly flimsy-feeling synthpop, mediocre hooks, and the way her voice sounds

the two big singles were legit great and the rest was serviceable enough

I suspect that, even though her second album was a massive improvement with some actually great singles, it being ignored by the media was a way to atone for her sins commited on that terrible debut.

"in for the kill" is a 10/10 classic to me

original obv not the remix

the true 2009 classic (the skream remix) that the nostalgia thread needs

Confession: I love love love Trouble in Paradise and I can’t believe there’s barely any discussion of it here

It’s super fun and it was an album I played a lot that summer. “Uptight Downtown” and “Sexoteque” were in heavy rotation at one of my bars and several people asked what it was, particularly with the former.

New single:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS6egctCzqY

As much as I like Trouble In Paradise, I was expecting more of a departure, especially considering how long it's been. I'm not too impressed.

"in for the kill" is a 10/10 classic to me

Interview in the indie today is an interesting read

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/la-roux-interview-new-album-supervision-gay-lgbtq-elly-jackson-a9319376.html

I think I'm eternally fated to like La Roux more than almost anyone else does. New album's a bit of a step down from Trouble in Paradise but it still bangs. is there no room in this world for a (slightly) poor man's Christine and the Queens?

Her cover of "Mr. Natural" on the new Whyte Horses LP is pretty nice.