Ladytron
Velocifero

Confusion, that's what I felt after listening to Ladytron's latest effort, not because the songs on the album are bad, by any means, but it's as if there is a sense of "déjà vu" throughout the album.

We were used to a band constantly evolving, starting from a gaudy electro-clash ("Evil" seemed straight out of a Gazebo album, remember "I Like Chopin"?) and reaching soundscapes at the brink of electro-dark with "The Wichten Hour," an excellent record that even prompted His Majesty Reznor to take them on tour with his Nine Inch Nails; at this point, having surpassed the confirmation album (the third album of the band according to the general rule), the feeling is that they have stabilized to avoid any wrong steps.

"Velocifero" isn't bad, mind you, it's just that it suffers from an underlying apathy that makes it boring, repetitive, partly because Ladytron are fond of the "big is better" formula (there aren't any Ladytron albums with fewer than 13-14 songs), partly because these electronic drums have all the same groove and sound, flattening an atmosphere that is already too "sterile."

Amidst shadows and lights, it's worth mentioning the beautiful "Kletve," where a more "independent" drum (but above all with real sounds) serves as a backdrop to a sung part in Bulgarian that gives the song a Balkan atmosphere, breaking the monotony that hangs over the entire album, as well as the two gems "Black Cat" and "Ghost" (the latter also being the launch single).

For the rest, those who know them know what to expect, while those who've only heard them in passing might do well to give a "preventive" listen to an album that, aside from a few tracks, focuses too much on a core structure to the point of becoming excessively repetitive; this is not necessarily a flaw, absolutely not, but since we are talking about Ladytron, I would expect something more.