Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 05/04/2004
The somewhat provocatively named and packaged mix album
Softcore Jukebox offers some of the origins and contemporaries of
Ladytron's stylish sound, encompassing
new wave,
post-punk,
dream pop,
dance-pop, and
electronica. It's not surprising that a group that makes such sleekly tasteful sounds also has impeccable taste in music, and the mix reflects this not only in its tracks but its sequencing as well.
My Bloody Valentine's sublime
"Soon" and
Fannypack's ridiculous but undeniably fun
"Hey Mami" don't automatically appear to be likely mix mates, but with songs like
the Fall's
"Hit the North, Pt. 1" and
the Fat Truckers' campy
"Teenage Daughter" in between, it makes sense.
Softcore Jukebox is a nicely balanced collection, moving from more
rock-oriented songs like
Wire's
"The 15th" and
Ladytron's own guitar-enhanced
"Blue Jeans 2.0" to more dance-oriented tracks like
Seelenluft's
"Manila" and
Codec & Flexor's
"Crazy Girls." The collection also features its fair share of obscurities, chief among them
Cristina's
"What's a Girl to Do," a cheerfully creepy bit of early-'80s
synth pop, and
Shocking Blue's
"Send Me a Postcard," one of the group's follow-ups to its hit
"Venus." Shout-outs to
Ladytron's U.K. labelmates on
Invicta Hi-Fi appear in the form of the sleek Gallic
electronica of
Dondolo's
"Peng," the
electro-
pop of
Snap Ant's
"Saviour Piece," and
Pop Levi's
exotica-tinged
"Twins." While
Softcore Jukebox is rather lengthy at 77 minutes, this multi-tasking collection -- which manages to be a mix album, an
Invicta Hi-Fi mini-sampler, and a brief history of
post-punk,
dream pop, and dance -- is consistently entertaining.
~Heather Phares, All Music Guide
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