As one of a number of acts surfing the day-glo wave of eighties nostalgia – I’m looking at you, Lady Gaga and Little Boots – La Roux’s latest offering is a sparse and spindly update on electropop.
‘Bulletproof’ has more than a whiff of Yazoo about it, which is no bad thing. Thankfully, the duo’s professed love of Depeche Mode and The Human League has imbued it with a measure of seriousness, possibly because they’re too young to remember the eighties – vocalist Elly Jackson is 21 – and therefore not prone to be arch or ironic about it.
Rasping synths and a drum machine are contrasted by a strong vocal, and there’s even an ELO style vocoder breakdown thrown in for good measure. In fact, it’s redolent of Rob Hubbard and the tunes he did for tons of games on the Commodore 64 (Google him to see why he’s the godfather of electro).
Catchy and upbeat, Bulletproof should get loads of airplay and bodes well for the forthcoming album.