Ladytron: Witching Hour (Ryko)
released: October 4, 2005
rating: ****

"Destroy Everything You Touch," from Ladytron's third record, is one of the best dance-tracks of the year. Oh it's so obvious even the first time you hear it. In fact, I cannot wait to mix it into my DJ set at the club. What will happen is, I'll be spinning "One Roman Choir" by KieTheVez (huge bonus points if you know this song, unlikely that you do) and then mix it into "Everything You Touch." After the track begins with a low-volume beat, followed by an irresistible synth progression that bursts in, anyone on the dancefloor will be like "wow, what IS this?" A few smart people will actually wonder if it's the new Ladytron. They may not know for sure because there's something different here. You can still dance to their electro-pop. And it has the robo female vocals. But it's darker and more sinister. Afterall, the record IS titled Witching Hour. Alongside "Everything" are several other stand-out tracks such as the dreamy "International Dateline," the beat-lead "Sugar," and "Beauty*2" (which is like a gloomier, electronic Cocteau Twins). If you can't groove to this then you're just a robot that hasn't been programmed to dance. -Kenyon