If I Gave You Sugar...

Ladytron are a longtime favorite of SIART. They are cool to look at - two girls and two guys, chic in all black. The music is the perfect synthesis of two worlds; classic synthpop like Depeche Mode and the poppier side of shoegaze like Lush. They craft truly memorable melodies, swathed in towering electronics and buzzing with guitars. It is distinctly European music, beholden to Kraftwerk and krautrock. I have been caning their latest LP Witching Hour for five months now - it came out in October of last year. That is a pretty long life in rotation in my world of music. Last week saw the release of Extended Play, a CD+DVD. It is a collection of remixes and b-sides from the last record, plus two videos (for Destroy Everthing You Touch & Sugar, both very moody and arty and very cool in totally different ways) and some documentary footage of the band touring in China. On the music side of things, James Iha's remix of Weekend and the Shipps & Tait remix of Last One Standing are particularly good. I like Sugar (Jagz Kooner Remix), which is typically Kooner - the original stripped down to motorik beats, droning, buzzing synths and the girls. I also really like the vibe of Tender Talons, an instrumental full of moody menace, driven by a beautiful flute melody and harpsichord awash in reverb - it's a Euro spy flick about to go wrong.