Ladytron’s Light on the Magic, But Still Addictive

Did you ever listen to an album that sounded like something you wouldn’t listen to twice…yet you found yourself humming the tunes for 48 hours afterward? That’s what Ladytron’s second album “Light & Magic” does, it grows on you like a fuzzy fungus.The beats are…well, as a friend of mine put it: “white man beats,” with a simple 4/4 rhythm and a throwback to the drum machine sounds of the 80’s (“Turn It On” sounds like Robert Miles messing around with analog synths in 1986). If not for the creative melodic overtones and interesting sound effects, it would sound like a 15-year-old German pop listener messing around in his parents’ basement.

Many of the singles (“Evil,” “Black Plastic,” “Cracked LCD”) have a light contemporary feel. If remixed for a club atmosphere, the songs would play far better than on tinny home speakers. Their brand of distinct European electro-pop/clash includes all the bad stereotypes…imagine four people standing still, not moving except to slightly bob with the beat, singing (speaking) with an intense robotic stare. Yet the songs stick, and you’re guaranteed to be thinking of the tunes long afterward, popping in the album over and over in order to satisfy the Ladytron urge.