Austinist Album Review: Ladytron's Velocifero

Confession: we want to date half of Ladytron. Take that how you will, considering the group is equal parts femme and homme and there's a healthy amount of us here in the music section salt mines who fantasize about this group. Who else really makes such tall, dark, and sexy music? If Portishead comes to mind, we must respectfully disagree. Too much of that "don't want to invite them over to dinner because their passive aggressive fights and it's just so awkward" vibe. Good try, though. True to their namesake, Ladytron tunes are sentient, cross-dressing androids with aluminum heels and nickel plated mammaries dispatched to intimidate and seduce, and they do a damned fine job of it. On their latest album, awesomely and accurately titled Velocifero, the creators emerge from the laboratory, debuting new additions to their legacy of glass and chrome, allowing just enough flourishes of color to rise above the starkness to remind you of the beating heart deep inside their machines.

Take "Season Of Illusions" for instance. The driving repetition of the song's central shape makes way for reassuring nuances in the vocals, the subtleties reminding you of the flesh and blood behind the bot. Same with the tiny accents in "Predict The Day", animating the background while stoic lyrics parade in front. If they ever make a sequel to Blade Runner, we hope the epic hooks of "Tomorrow" are playing across the end credits. Tracking back, you're still going to have head-on collisions with the sumo-fat synths of songs like "I'm Not Scared" and the terrifying "Black Cat", both of which you will be drunkenly dancing to before the end of the month, in various permutations. Need an ancillary selling point? If you think that two M83 albums a year just isn't enough electro-drama, there's a lot here to tide you over. Ladytron, while a bit like the disapproving older sister who can't help that she looks like her dramatic, obtuse younger sibling, loves the little guy nonetheless. They've both got big daddy Depeche Mode's eyes. Maybe that's why we've fallen so hard for them.

They'll perform tonight at Stubb's, tickets are $18.