(Muso's Guide, December 25, 2008)
Single review
Every so often there comes a pop dance single which causes bodies to act in curious ways: shimmying of bottom, tapping of feet, vocal approximation of harmony, general striking of poses in reckless abandon.
Bless you, La Roux, or should I say Elly Jackson for bringing out those physical jerks through introducing to the musical world your curiously classic yet strangely classless brand of 1980s sleaze-pop.
‘Quicksand’ is like Goldfrapp dialled up ‐ or CSS dialled back, all jerky rhythms and unfeasibly catchy tune.
Bizarrely continental, La Roux actually hails from Brixton, and is just now booking a supporting slot with Lily Allen. Despite that, she sings “When will I learn all you do is push me back in the dust” like it’s coming straight from Italian songstress Spagna’s lips 25 years ago instead of her own in the here and now.
Visually an arresting merger between Tilda Swinton and David Bowie circa 1975, La Roux’s fabulous video is all 1980s sunset scenes and leaning on giant pineapples. The grand finale shows La Roux’s face morphing into that of a leopard.
Oh, yes, it’s barmy, but that is its charm.
The autoKratz ‘Rags to Riches mix’ is even more in debt to disco, with a more upbeat tempo. ‘Beni’s Sinking at 1.56 mix’ is a little more abstract with a touch of the Depeche, but not without its charm, whilst the ‘Chateau Marmont mix’ is the truest to the original except with a terrifically 1980s beat.
La Roux makes the rest of today’s dance pop look positively old hat, by sounding like everything that came before most young clubbers today were even born. That is the true grit in the ‘Quicksand’.
Oh, and if you think this review referentially names the 1980s too much, keep on walking ‐ there’s clearly nothing for you here.
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