La Roux (originally Elly Jackson and Ben Langmaid, the former doing the singing) are a British group who were very much "Best Newcomer" circa 2009, though it took them until 2014 to finally follow through with a second LP, by which time Langmaid was out of the picture.
Their style is best described as electro-pop. Four of the tracks from their first Self-Titled Album have been released as singles:
- "Quicksand". Got them noticed but barely bothered the charts.
- "In for the Kill". UK number # 2.
- "Bulletproof". UK number # 1 and straight in too. This was even more surprising considering it was released on the week of the death of Michael Jackson.
- "I'm Not Your Toy". UK #27.
The second album, Trouble In Paradise, was released in July 2014. Later in 2020, they released their third album, "Supervision" in February 7.
Not to be confused with LeRoux
, a Louisiana country-rock band which had its heyday in the late '70s and early '80s.
This time, baby, I'll be trope proof:
- Bifauxnen: Elly has an androgynous appearance similar to an feminine young man.
- Cool Shades: Elly sports a red goggle-like pair in the "In For the Kill" video.
- Garfunkel: Ben Langmaid, who receives much less focus recognition than Elly.
- The Ghost: Ben Langmaid. He did turn up to the Grammys (they won for Best Electronic/Dance Album) but otherwise is rarely seen in public.
- I Am the Band: Elly Jackson is the only full member of La Roux now, Langmaid having left at some point in their post-debut hiatus over
Musical Differences. - Meaningful Name: The name "La Roux" is of course supposed to be French; Jackson took the phrase "la rousse", but instead used the masculine term "roux" (meaning a male redhead) because she herself is androgynous (something she likes doing, apparently). Unfortunately, this also ends up turning it into "the fried-flour thickening agent"—which is also masculine, but that's sort of beside the point.
- Surreal Music Video: All of them. Best example is probably "I'm Not Your Toy", which prominently features some kind of cyberpunk watermelon-ish head thing.
