A sustained gritty guitar riff, giving way to a pounding drum intro, closely followed by a fat dirty bass line and distorted synths. Ladytron have arrived and are already stealing the breath of their audience with the stunning opener to their third album The Witching Hour, High Rise.

It’s hard to believe the recent transition in sound. A band fiercely inspired by early 80’s Electronica, the Avant-Garde qualities of Suicide, mashed together with the stylistic minimalism of Visage and pop eccentricity of Soft Cell and Kraftwerk. They lived and breathed the imagery, regimental in dress code, blank monotone stares that made the Stepford wives appear animated, a reinvention of the words ‘cool as fuck’. This formula that used for their first two albums, 604 and Light and Magic, but a new record deal and time away has seen an outfit often accused of being lightweight in sound to return with a monster of an album and it is performed this evening with much pride and conviction. A combination of live drums, guitar and bass embedded amongst familier synth, heavy to the point of industrial in parts, it’s clear to those old enough to remember that his band have shifted a decade and are now obsessing over the likes of My Bloody Valentine, Curve and the shoe-gazey etherealists, Cocteau Twins and Slowdive. It’s a brave move in these times of angular indie guitar, but it works perfectly. The recent thundering single ‘Destroy Everything You Touch’ being a perfect example of this, sung in Mira’s traditional sexy but deadpan tones amongst a mechanical fusion of  fuzzy keyboards and solid drums. This continues throughout the eerie International Dateline  Soft Power and the obvious nod to Kevin Sheilds,  Sugar. Despite Mira providing most of the vocal content, her front of stage partner Helen supports with choice backing vocals, beautifully icy and detached in both sound and appearance, these girls have perfected their art to frightening precision. Even the old classics have been given a make over, a speedy rendition of, He Took Her To a Movie and beefy versions of ‘Seventeen’ and  live classic, Playgirl, all have the crowd going mental.
       So Ladytron appear to have it all sown up. So are they playing Universities on a sell out tour…….well no. This maybe an exciting time for music and Ladytron may well be one the most exciting sounding bands on the scene but sadly there doesn’t appear to be a place for them with the current indie elite, It’s a sad case of if yer name’s not Franz, yer not coming in….. And for a band who once played the Met not more that 2 years ago, the Cockpit is hardly a promotion. Ladytrons future is by know means  assured which is devastatingly frustrating but tonight was a triumph, and they know it…….Although I expect that is small consolation in these times of commercial struggle.

James Heward