With the re-release of Ladyhawke's rollicking Paris is Burning it seemed that the big wigs spearheading this project were demanding that we sit up and take notice, not just of the relatively overlooked single which crept into the Top 75 way back in June '08, but of the Lady herself and indeed her debut, self-titled album. The single begins with a hook that Gary Numan's car would be proud of before throwing to a wistful chorus. It would seem that this re-release guff didn't quite do the trick as the single made only a modest climb into the top 50 this time but the album did enjoy a slight boost and some increased exposure. And while chart domination may not have beckoned, it's the re-release that brings me to this (ridiculously tardy) review and what a shame it would have been had this impressive release had passed me by.
Quite simply this is an album of heady, 80s brand electronica with the stomping, chill-inducing Magic kicking things off excellently and the pace rarely letting up from then on. As a child of the 90s who takes only cursory glances into music's rear-view mirror there's no chance that I could name-check every artist of 1980s that Ladyhawke references here in one form or another but the all the calling cards are there for all to see even if specific names fail to come to mind. Blaring sirens, stomping electro beats, punchy drums, gnarly guitars and shrewd synths all feature heavily and mesh together wonderfully with Ladyhawke's matter of fact delivery of simply quite cool, nonchalant lyrics to create a modern slant on retro cool with a shaggy indie aesthetic.
The tone of the album strikes a successful balance between breezy; like on the guitar-led Another Runaway or the airy Love Don't Live Here; and funky in the form of Professional Suicide which is an irresistible blend of electro funk and rock guitars. A softer side rears its delightful head towards the album's finale with the restrained guitars and gentle plinks of Crazy World's verses building for a top-notch chorus and Morning Dreams boasting a, dare I say, dreamier quality with an ethereal vocal and swaying guitar strings. However, while Better Than Sunday would probably make a great Ting Tings b-side, for Ladyhawke it's just a touch dull and suffers from having little to say. But this one questionable moment aside this is a debut album with an alarmingly high success rate; sometimes the overall impact of the music here can be dulled by a slightly feeling of familiarity from one song to the next but it rarely disrupts the enjoyment of the material.
Overall it's sort of like the synth-laden electro pop chic of Roisin Murphy but with less high fashion posturing and claustrophobic beats and more of indie-rock edge. A tad repetitive and derivative? Perhaps, but I say it's cohesive and walks the line favourably between homage and pastiche. You see, it's the beats, the clever production, her ever so slightly detached yet evocative vocal that all combine to make a highly listenable and instantly accessible, well made slice of pop-rock by way of 80s electronica with splashes of funk and lashings of effortlessly cool edge. While it’s clear that Ladyhawke should be showered with success and recognition there’s nothing to say that this is an artist who won’t grow and develop by her second album and beyond. Chart success is a fickle thing, for every critical darling underdog defying commercial expectations, there’s a cheap talent show export meeting them exactly with an ill-deserved number one. At least Ladyhawke can hold her head up high with the quality of material on offer here, can the likes of Eoghan Quigg and his cover of Year 3000 do the same?
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