Electro-pop pioneers Ladytron make their long-awaited return with shimmering single ‘The Animals’.
Ladytron – Helen Marnie, Mira Aroyo, Daniel Hunt and Reuben Wu – were formed in Liverpool back in 1999. Combining electro, pop, new wave and shoegaze elements they released five records over a ten-year period, went on a succession of world tours and were rightly lauded as the pioneers of electro-pop. They then decided to take a break to pursue other projects and it wasn’t until July 2016 that they hinted on their website that they would be back.
And back they are – with new single ‘The Animals’ (listen below) and the announcement that they will release a new album later this year. A remix of ‘The Animals’ by Vince Clarke of Erasure was also released on 5th March. “We have always wanted to work with Vince in some way, he’s obviously a legend in our sphere,” remarks Ladytron’s Daniel Hunt. The band have set up a Pledge Music campaign for the forthcoming album and both tracks are available exclusively through this along with deluxe versions of the album and other exclusive items including a limited seven-inch vinyl of the two versions of ‘The Animals’.
“‘The Animals’ was the first new song we had, and with it we went immediately into the studio with Jim Abbiss,” says vocalist Helen Marnie. “He’s the producer who has really understood us the most”.
The track features shimmering synths over a powerful beat with Marnie’s crystalline voice uniting with the melody as she sings “We are more like you, than the ones that you knew”. The lyrics touch on humans being reduced to our more animalistic tendencies while the rushing waves from the layers of vocals and keyboards are both beautiful and menacing – like nature itself.
‘The Animals’ is a first taste of what is to come. Ladytron are back to making instinctively impressive music and we can’t wait to hear more.
This article was written for Backseat Mafia.