Mira Aroyo and Helen Marnie were early on when they moved their band to Blocksberg 20 years ago: Ladytron were initially part of the noughties electroclash genre, before their third album WITCHING HOUR in 2005 initiated a witch trend that has now manifested itself in phenomena such as WitchTok or Wicca Renaissance.
It’s a credit to Ladytron that they recently stepped away from what they helped invent with a few danceable and dazzling recordings. But it’s also understandable that they’re now treating themselves to more mumbo jumbo with PARADISES. The lyrics of songs from “In Blood” or “Death In London” contain core themes such as blood, death and the dark side of love.
The music, on the other hand, escapes clichés over the course of the very long album. The bands themselves talk about “Balearic Noir”, and that’s very accurate: there used to be at least one track on the popular CAFE DEL MAR compilations with chill-out music for dance clubs on the Mediterranean that was about how the relaxation time after the dance night is also good for encounters with demons. PARADISES is full of tracks like this.
