Artist: La Roux
Genre: Pop, Synthpop, Electro
Website: www.laroux.co.uk

Debate their role as a legitimate forecaster of the next big thing if you must, but so far, the BBC’s Sound of 2009 features several acts that have made quite a name for themselves. Then again, that could be overstated; there must be some folk out there besides the Amish who still haven’t heard of Lady GaGa and Kid Cudi.

Lesser known, but no less entertaining, is the British band La Roux, comprised of producer Ben Langmaid and fronted by twenty-one year old Eleanor “Elly” Jackson. The 80s revival in music may have started a while back, but La Roux are taking it full speed ahead- acid wash jeans and Molly Ringwald homages in tow. While most synthpop bands make a point to be cold and detached, Jackson makes no secret of being a hotheaded, bleeding heart standout where current lovers and exes alike aren’t safe.

The video for their first single “Quicksand” is teeming with an 80s vibe- Timothy Dalton era James Bond meets Sonny and Rico in South Beach for a Martini and a few lethal choke holds on some ornery perps. The latest single “Bulletproof,” which has reached number one on the charts in their native UK, finds Jackson channeling her inner Annie Oakley behind driving chiptune rhythms and even a little autotune to spice.

One can’t tell for sure how long the synthpop movement, and the trends of the decade in which it originally calls home, will last before fizzling out to bass-heavy breakbeats and Hammer Pants. However, if given no more than the year in which they’ve been under the spotlight, La Roux are, as the name of their lead track suggests “In for the Kill.”

Their self titled debut is out now on Cherry Tree. 

Discography:
La Roux (2009)