La Roux
Supervision
Supercolour
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Pop is a genre of music, like many others, that has come to include many subgenres: Art Pop, Rock Pop, Synth-Pop, and the list goes on and on. Back in the late ‘00s, we were introduced to the duo La Roux. Comprised of lead singer Elly Jackson and producer Ben Langmaid, the pair released their smash hit, eponymous debut album La Roux in 2009 and garnered both commercial and critical success (including a GRAMMY award win for Best Electronic/Dance Album and a Mercury Prize nomination), but it seemed that another niche had been drawn in the ever growing synth-pop genre, and La Roux were its new ambassador.
Fast forward eleven years and now six years on from 2014’s sophomore LP Trouble In Paradise, La Roux, the now completely solo moniker of Elly Jackson, is back with Supervision. Opening with the beautiful “21st Century,” a song that for some strange reason I can’t stop comparing to Sam Sparro’s “21st Century Life,” we are introduced to the general tone of the album: synth-pop that doesn’t stray from the comfortability of its boundaries.
Jackson’s voice is in fine form, a distinctive sound that was made famous on songs like the delicious “Bulletproof” from La Roux’s debut, but sadly that same level of success has fallen short on this album. Whilst the album can’t be faulted from a production point of view, it doesn’t scale the same heights that La Roux once did. The album takes on a more mellow approach this time with the two standout tracks “International Woman Of Leisure” and the disco-esque “Do You Feel” moving beyond the affable safety of the rest of the album.
Don’t get it wrong, this album for all intents and purposes is a good album. Jackson has continued her quest in not only carving away at her niche, but also attempting to create a unique sound, never diverging from her obvious musical influences of the ‘80s. This time however, Supervision falls short of that wow factor that La Roux has so effortlessly delivered in the past.
Notable Tracks: "Do You Feel" | “International Woman of Leisure"
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