(Island/Universal)

In a manner similar to fellow UK-based producer Stuart Price’s parallel Zoot Woman and Les Rhythmes Digitales projects, Liverpool four-piece outfit Ladytron’s 2001 debut album ‘604’ emerged a considerable distance before the current resurgence in interest in all things eighties New Wave-fixated, the Roxy Music-oriented origins of their name itself offering a considerable clue as to where the group’s collective muse was centered. Though Ladytron became swept up in the hectic media frenzy that was electroclash, to be honest their position amongst that genre always felt tenuous, the dark lyric-focused terrain of their breakthrough 2002 second album ‘Light And Magic’ sitting closer to New Romantic forebears such as Human League and Soft Cell than the sorts of fashion-conscious dancefloor tracks emerging from the likes of Hell’s International Deejay Gigolos.

In the ensuing period since ‘Light And Magic’s release, Ladytron suffered the almost simultaneous implosion of both their UK and US record labels, a solution they neat sidestepped by touring almost continuously for a year, before finally signing to Island Records. In the wake of label-related chaos and uncertainty and with all four members now living in separate countries, this third album ‘Witching Hour’ shows Ladytron emerging from the drama with a renewed vigour to offer their strongest collection of songs yet, one that shows their sound expanding into new areas, whilst also rediscovering their leftfield indie roots.

Opening track ‘High Rise’ illustrates the additional layers of sonic intricacy and power that working with producer Jim Abbiss (DJ Shadow, Placebo) has added to Ladytron’s sound, thumping mechanistic Neu!-meets-Joy Division drums powering their way beneath howling gothy guitars, vast washes of synthetic sound and brooding bass while Mira Aroyo and Helen Marnie’s reverb-drenched vocals soar through the mix in a manner that calls to mind both Sonic Youth and Siouxsie at the same time – it’s certainly easily the most sonically fearsome and jagged offering unleashed by the group so far.

First single ‘Destroy Everything You Touch’ takes things back towards more familiar synth pop hook-laden territory after this dark brooding opening with bright Human League-esque synths making their way alongside punching house beats in one of this album’s most immediately catchy and dancefloor friendly moments (though there’s still a nice dark twist to be had in the shape of the nihilistic chorus hook”Please destroy me / this way”), before ‘International Dateline’ strips things down, placing a rattling drum machine beat beneath vast dark synth washes and rippling flamenco-influenced guitar riffing that lends the sparse electronics an almost cinematic Morricone-esque widescreen quality as Helen Marnie and Daniel Hunt’s vocals intertwine over epic synthetic orchestration in one of this album’s most slowburning moments.

‘Soft Power’ brings the icy goth-tinged influences back to the forefront, with a buzzing overdriven synth bassline that calls to mind some of the more propulsive sections of Goldfrapp’s ‘Black Cherry’ album making its way alongside clicking electro-house rhythms as Marnie and Aroyo’s multitracked vocals take things towards Euro-drama, as synthetic orchestration and droning electronics build to epic levels that hint at both Kraftwerk and Yello’s arrangements, while current single ‘Sugar’ veers directly into fizz-laden electro rock in the vein of Whitey, overdriven riffs powering their way beneath mechanistic drum machine beats and snarling reverb while Marnie and Aroyo duet in a style that’s touched by hints of The Breeders’ fuzzy indie-rock.

‘Fighting In Built-Up Areas’ unleashes one of this record’s darkest moments, with relentless industrial drum machine beats and menacing dark synth buzzes creating an ominous and claustrophobic backdrop for Marnie and Aroyo’s ‘ghost in the machine’-sounding vocal trails as they flit amongst the metallic crashes and whirs, before the soaring ‘Weekend’ takes things out into fuzz-laden psychedelic-tinged drone-rock, Doors-y keyboards shimmering over a streamlined backdrop of post-punk bass riffs and metronomic programmed drum beats as Marnie and Aroyo’s multitracked vocals drift through layers of vast reverb. Finally, ‘All The Way’ brings this album to a close with one of its most gorgeous offerings, huge shimmering layers of trailing guitars and delicate electronics providing a deep backdrop for live drums and washes of guitar feedback as Aroyo’s vocal floats through the ether in a spectral manner that calls to mind Stereolab’s widescreen post-rock meets exotica explorations.

‘Witching Hour’ represents perhaps Ladytron’s strongest collection of songs to date and certainly their most confidant and assured sounding album, no doubt the end result of the considerable touring time spent taking ‘Light And Magic’ around the world and the group rediscovering their drive amidst record company tribulations and constant live shows. With not a single dud moment amongst any of the twelve tracks assembled here and a ferocious new energy and rawness to the new material, ‘Witching Hour’ offers a sonic snapshot of Ladytron heading off into new uncharted territory, and one that’s likely to gain them a whole new legion of fans in the process. An excellent return.

Check out http://www.ladytron.com.