LADYTRON LIGHT & MAGIC ALBUM EMPEROR NORTON, TELSTAR, WARNER RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 17, 2002 (USA), DECEMBER 2, 2002 (UK), DECEMBER 9, 2002 (SWEDEN) REVIEW: DECEMBER 30, 2002

British. There is this instantly recognizable, indefinable element of Britishness, the Britain of fish'n'chips, soccer and unhealthy looking fashion models present on "Light & Magic". No matter how much Ladytron look to Germany or how many songs Bulgarian Mira Aroyo sings in exotic languages, still they remain firmly planted in English soil. I think it has to do with a peculiar British esthetic of cool detachment and the concept of style over everything, not just substance. You can heap abuse upon the British, but you cannot take style away from them. American style, in contrast, is platinum watches and gravity defying dreadlocks, shockingly distasteful to the impeccable, Oscar Wildean dandies of English subculture.
Ladytron carry this British inheritance, like everyone from Pet Shop Boys to Dubstar before them, and it permeates their essence, radiating from record covers, videos and of course from the music in itself.
Since the previous album "604", the focus has shifted slightly from sheer pop to something colder and less organic. The whole mood is about dressing up, fabrication and illusion - strengthened by the modeling-themed lyrics of single track "Seventeen" ("They only want you when you're 17, when you're 21 you're no fun"). The name of the album seems like a reference to this "unreality", and seldom, if ever, can the real voices of singers Aroyo and Marnie be heard unprocessed.
The surface perfection and smoothness of the sound can be a little numbing in the long run. "Light & Magic" is like a pretty face with heavy make up. The songs have good melodic hooks and create nice moods, but sometimes the artificial sheen of the material makes it sound too much like a Paris catwalk soundtrack.

MATTIAS HUSS