Ladytron

What we have here is the difference between sounding like and being - and Ladytron are electro and synth harbingers, or more accurately put, would have been if it was 1980, again. Daniel Hunt and Reuben Wu work exclusively on the machines, creating oscillations that fill psychosomatic prescriptions, and then there's the beat-boxes to kick. Mira Aroyo's clever, disentangling lyrical versions contrast the poly-languid singing such that each highlight the other. Recording out of Liverpool, UK, this package is cosmopolitan in a way Kyoto Protocol fearing North Americans could never be. If the treats "Playgirl" and "He Took Her To a Movie" have as yet eluded you, or the embarrassment owning so few '80s records (inherited glam rock excluded) has got you avoiding crowds and busy intersections, the solution is rarely so fun and easy.