What's curiously-coifed, androgynous, 80s-inspired and banging on your front door, ready to rock your world? The answer: La Roux.
La Roux, a synth pop duo fronted by Eleanor (Elly) Jackson with assistance from her silent producer/partner Ben Langmaid, is the next great thing to come out of the thriving music scene in the UK. Elly and her gravity-defying hair have taken over the UK with hits like "Bulletproof" and "In for the Kill" and now she's setting her sights on conquering the United States. Are you ready for an 80s revival?
The most compelling offering from La Roux (it means red-haired one in French) is the insanely catchy "Bulletproof." Elly's heart has been broken and her feelings are shattered, so she bares her pain plainly in the lyrics. She is wounded, but not dead and her strength is affirmed in the resolute and defiant chorus: "This time, baby, I'll be bulletproof." Love may have knocked Elly down, but she's definitely getting back up for another round. The spacey beats that back this poetic tour de force sound like an 8-bit electro-pop version of a Nintendo soundtrack. It's all blips, bleeps and bloops, sprinkled with synths and keyboards. And Elly's voice, oh that voice. It aches, it howls and it soars capturing all the color and emotion of the jaded lyrics pouring out of her.
Watch the art school-friendly video for "Bulletproof."
The amount of thought and work put into La Roux's sound
is evident and appreciated, but Elly equally works as hard at crafting the visuals to accompany this sound. The most distinct pieces of the La Roux look are the androgynous styling and the sky-scraping mane. Physically, Elly resembles Clay Aiken, or as some on the internet have called her, a gay version of Ron Weasley from Harry Potter. The hair is straight out of a Japanese video game, full of spikes and angles and defying Newton's law of gravity. In fact, Charlie from Street Fighter Alpha and Cloud from Final Fantasy look like they inspired the singer's cockatoo hairstyle.When it comes to fashion, Elly is all about blazers, sneakers, suits, wild patterns and neon colors. She rarely bares any of her feminine flesh, such as her hips, cleavage or midriff, but she still maintains a slight hint of girlishness to her androgynous look without going full butch. The masculine, androgynous style begs the obvious question: Is La Roux...a lesbian? No, she says she's not. But the Rod Stewart fashion sense might throw many for a loop and make Ellen DeGeneres envious.
Other tracks and videos to check out from La Roux include "I'm Not Your Toy," "In for the Kill" and "Colourless Colour." In fact, the album is only $7.99 on iTunes so getting the whole shebang won't break the bank either. If you liked Kanye's "808s and Heartbreak," think of La Roux as its white, 80s-obsessed British cousin. It's just as moody, heartbroken, melancholic and electronic.


