Of the slew of huge releases this week, Ladytron’s Gravity The Seducer was the one that kept flying under the radar for me. Primus, Anthrax, Staind, even Bush were the ones I kept citing off the top of my head when talking about releases for the 13th. And then Gravity… slowly crept up and knocked me on my ass.
Let’s be clear on one fact: Ladytron do not make bad albums. Like a finely tuned machine, they churn out albums held to the highest standards of perfection. Even a “bad” album for them is a thousand times better than the shit that permeates the airwaves these days. Having said that, Gravity The Seducer might be their best.
Gravity The Seducer is otherworldly sounding right from the start. If it wasn’t constructed in space, then definitely somewhere up in the ether would be another suitable home for its’ conception. Beginning with single “White Elephant”, Ladytron start things off smooth with an electro samba when Helen Marnie’s angelic voice comes in and builds layer upon layer to make it choir-like. “Mirage” is the one that’ll reel you in with a gradual fade in until the drums start and the melody lines play out on the keys.
Elsewhere there’s the previously released “Ace Of Hz” (From Best Of 00-10 released earlier this year) which is electropop-by-numbers and memorable as hell (Check out closer “Aces High” for an instrumental reprise!). Other highlights include the menacing and militaristic “Moon Palace” which shows off the sometime underused (vocally at least) Mira Aroyo and instrumental “Ritual” which could easily be up for the Nick Rhodes-jam-of-the-year award (There’s no such thing.). At the end of the day though, let’s be honest, every song on Gravity The Seducer is a “highlight”. From the dance-y “Melting Ice” to the ethereal vox Marnie lays down in “Ambulances” to the “Twin Peaks”-ish “Ninety Degrees”, there is not one track here that is a skipper.
Once again, Ladytron have managed to “seduce” this listener with their brilliant dreamy electro concoctions. If Ladytron land is a dream, I don’t know if I ever want to wake up.
Gravity The Seducer is out now on Nettwerk.
Rating: A+