Sunday 11 May 2014

[New Music] La Roux Return Strong With "Let Me Down Gently"



La Roux finally make their return to music, and it's a good 'un- a real good 'un.

Let Me Down Gently starts off simple enough, channeling the duo's trademark synth-pop sound. It's a perfect start to their first song in five years (that being I'm Not Your Toy), giving us the opportunity to focus on Elly Jackson's voice and fall in love with it all over again.

However, it's not till three minutes in that the beat really drops and the song grows legs, with other (electronic) instrumentation rushing in to fill out the track's landscape. I'm convinced there's even Morse Code going on in the background. Now if only I could decode it. Maybe it'll tell me the secret as to what keeps Elly's hair so perfectly coiffured.

Pop perfection!


Thoughts?

24 comments:

  1. To be fair, the second is Belarus, not Belgium haha :D

    This was Belgium's entry:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wr3m4ghnq6w

    ReplyDelete
  2. Not really quite true. Considering the Dutch entries second place. Or the Dutch 9th place last year with an equally gimmick free tune.(and a far from "easy" one actually)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nope, Eurovision is not centered arround gimmick. If that was the case, Spain would have won when we sent "el chikichiki". Eurovision is completely based on politics and neighbour countries voting each other.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This one did "Bulletproof" right? Not a fan.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I don't think it's gimmick in and by itself which is offensive here. It's that "pretend" drag is a tad offensive to those risking their physical well being daily by dressing a certain way in everyday life to use that as a "gimmick".
    Now THAT is tantamount to "minstrel shows" imo.

    Which means I don't care how HE wants to be called, I am no more going to call one using drag as a stage act only, "her" or "she" than I would call Julia Roberts "Erin" or "Vivian" or "a hooker".
    In fact I will make it a point from here on in to make sure to work a "he" or "him" into my words every time I mention mr Tom Neuwirth. I find it incredibly annoying and yes, deeply offensive, for HIM to suggest HE deserves the female pronoun for wearing a dress on stage.

    ReplyDelete
  6. And again, you are blatantly ignoring the second place entry. Probably because that one actually counters both the gimmick and the political voting argument. ;-)

    As I would say does the fact that Ukraine gave the decent song by Russia still 4 points, in spite of the political situation.
    Or maybe that actually underscores the fact that Russia isn't lying about parts of the Ukraine desiring to be Russian LOL

    ReplyDelete
  7. Just read it is so much an act...not even the hair is natural. It's not even a weave. It's a bloody wig FFS.

    HE might have won ESC but in my eyes HE is the biggest loser of the night.

    ReplyDelete
  8. lol You're either dutch or american to have these political...thoughts. Gimmick doesn't only come from being eccentric, but also from being sentimental. I'm not saying that they are talentless, but that most of these artists either lack sense or decide to suppress it. I'm not even going to comment on the last one, as someone doing PPE at Uni.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Which political thoughts are you referring to? That I am having due to being either Dutch or American? And no "gimmick" means neither eccentric nor sentimental. Both can be used as a gimmick though. Neither has anything to do with that entry you are so intent on denying the existence, content and success of.

    And also no, you were not saying "they are (not) talentless, but that most of these artists either lack sense or decide to suppress it"
    That is actually a whole new viewpoint you are throwing into the conversation.

    What you are studying has no bearing on "that last one". Maybe you should look into studying English instead though? That "LOL" at the end of my last remark should indicate it was a joke.

    Also how deliciously naive to think what you are "studying at Uni" means anything at all. Especially when it's not one of the exact sciences.
    At the end you will have a piece of paper signifying you memorized and can regurgitate the required views for receiving that piece of paper. (and judging from your insistence of ignoring certain facts, I am not seeing much evidence yet of more independent thought than that tbh. Because the arguments of only gimmicks or political voting are in play are hardly original nor take all facts into consideration. They are simply popular things to say when criticizing the contest and very superficial observations. Not very "scientific" ones)
    But obviously even that much you cannot claim at this point. As it seems whatever it is you are studying, you didn't graduate yet. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I kind of like the song, reminds me a lot of Adele's Skyfall.


    It is disappointing to see people stuck at what he looks like. Alas, the world still has eons to move past immaterial stuff like that.


    He sounds terrific in chest belts. I love how his voice is so 'soary'. Near effortless there, just like Celine Dion. But his voice and style seems a little too influenced by theatre/opera, which is a shame when singing pop.

    ReplyDelete
  11. lol, the uni part was a quip referring to something/someone and not you, but someone from this forum, too :P. I was joking about that...not about you being Dutch or American though.


    And i am reiterating popular opinions for a reason. they're quite popular for a reason, so trying to deviate from that thought when i think it is perfectly valid is unjustifiable. That's like saying how you should start trying to contradict widely-accepted scientific theories just because you've received your Bachelors in Biochemistry or some similar thing like that. It's a logical fallacy that makes no sense.


    Really, you consider the initialism that is 'LOL' to be worthy of being considered as study-material in linguistics...you're right. I'm doing linguistics, too, actually, and FB chat convos are part of the course. You have no idea how this part of the course was insufferable.


    And, no, I did not just add that viewpoint--i just didn't acknowledge it. It's faire to say that most popular singers are talented, anyways. Hell, even Bieber is. Talent and sense are completely two different things, and sense is the basis of art (sense and skill have the same etymologies).


    And what you're referring too aren't facts, because facts are common verities, not subject to opinion.

    ReplyDelete
  12. the video has been removed :/ listen here : http://minuetaxtinalol.tumblr.com/post/85412622568

    WOW ! iv had the debut album on repeat for the last 2 months and i cant get enough, i didnt pick it up back when it came out due my staning for lady gaga and distatse for anyother female singer who tried to be themselves (dark times) but now iv come to see it as one of the best pop albums in recent memory.

    i think she's a really unique songstress and im really glad this is diffrent to the last album but still in the same vein, current 80s pop gold ! :)

    all in all im very pleased for their return and i will be waiting patiently for more ! :).

    http://24.media.tumblr.com/8a7e858971e6f2ca23564e5427873509/tumblr_mlnxz71zqH1ql5yr7o1_250.gif

    ReplyDelete
  13. haha omg that side eye. when you want to give side eye but the vodka be too strong.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Okay, I didn't get that being a joke. Bit too vague maybe seeing as he hasn't been involved in this thread...so far?

    The rest of your reply makes little logical sense tbh.
    Popular superficial opinions are not in any way comparable to "widely accepted scientific facts". If you think they are you don't really understand how a scientific theory gets formed or widely accepted.

    No, I don't consider LOL as such study material. That was a joke from my side as I know full well that you know full well what it stands for and how ,when attached to the end or beginning of a sentence, that sentence is meant to be viewed.

    I'm sure that viewpoint was in your mind but it wasn't previously in your words in this thread. hence it got "added" only in that comment. It is a different issue than those you were talking about and I was responding to.
    Therefor the question of whether participants of the ESC have talent and /or sense was beside the point.

    And yes, the facts I am referring to are most certainly facts. The Dutch entry finishing second is a fact. The Dutch never getting anywhere with the amount of "political" votes they get is another fact, That is why they didn't even get past the semi final for many years.
    And this is not the only nation this kind of thing could be said of.
    Same with the gimmick claim. Fact is lots of countries try that but it is also a fact that many songs who won did not have any gimmicks attached.
    These are not my opinions. these are facts.

    And though you restated your remark you did not in fact answer the question..which "political thoughts" of mine can according to you be ascribed to my nationality being either Dutch or American. (btw why those two anyway).
    What nationality are you actually? Just so I know which political views to ascribe to you! LOL (jk - ;-D - /s)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Yes, I thought it sounded a (tacky) James Bond film.

    ReplyDelete
  16. A scientific theory is not a fact. It's a hypothesis that's widely accepted because of its strong correlations to certain...stuff. And again those 'factual' reiterations, well, aren't facts...


    I'm not going to delve into anecdotal evidence, but I still believe that politics and gimmicks get more votes. The acts are meant to be consumed on a macro-scale. It's consumerism at its very best, and what ties with pop art is shock and gimmicks, because they sell, and because they are out of the norm. Consumerism and politics are intricately related. I mean, if people appreciated quality, then the quality of this competition wouldn't even be this terrible. It's a visual, vapid spectacle. If they wanted to produce something of quality, they would have done it a long time ago. The whole competition is treated as a silly joke; do you honestly think that Ireland was serious when they decided to take the Jedwards as reps for the competition? Everything is made fun of; cultures, customs and nationalities--everything.


    Lol, I'm Swiss :P. The country with the purest form of democracy, with its 7 presidents. We'd be poor as fuck without the banks.


    Yeah, I don't know. Your phrasing seems Dutch to me.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Actually, it's totally the other way around. ”Theory” doesn't mean the same thing in scientifically and colloquially. Scientific hypothesis becomes a theory just after it's confirmed by countless experiments, proofs and research that it's factual - and therefore scientific theory IS INDEED A FACT.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I guess you claim so just because you might be Polish. The performance was vocally mediocore. The poor girl sounded as if she wanted to poop out that darned song.

    ReplyDelete
  19. https://24.media.tumblr.com/7f201b956b07a10db757c7e27c2d9d4e/tumblr_n5g3zrHWEn1r7pxyyo1_500.gif

    ReplyDelete
  20. he sounds like adam lambert

    ReplyDelete
  21. If only the lyrics were better.....


    I swear, when he sings 'once i've transformed' my first thought was that he is talking of his possible gender reassignment.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Versatile Listener12 May 2014 at 20:16

    I really liked it and I am excited to hear more. Then again I am a big fan of English songstresses so this comes as no surprise to me.

    ReplyDelete