Led by, alternately, Mira Aroyo's stern Bulgarian vocals and Helen Marnie's Miss Jean Brodie-like tones, Ladytron sound like Kraftwerk fronted by two secret policewoman. With leather skirts giving them a further authoritarian chic, the girls gaze into the audience with an omnipresent science fiction glare.This austere stance informs music based around glacial synths, stark melodies and drum beats that sound like a rumbling in the plumbing of a very old haunted house. Perhaps in an alternative sci-fi universe, the terrific Seventeen would have been No 1 for weeks, although lyrics such as: "They only want you when you're 17, when you're 21 you're no fun," induce terror in anyone past their teens. Other singles, such as 2003's Blue Jeans, don't always have the same kinetic thump. However, Ghosts, I'm Not Scared and Runaway - from the forthcoming Velocifero - suggest that the old Orwellian stomp is giving way to a more ethereal, emotional, almost human synth sound.
The robogirls are also warm-blooded enough nowadays to treat the audience to a succession of old near-hits. The fabulous Visage-like Discotraxx suggests they suffer from the same everyday concerns as everyone else ("A boy I know, he knows a dirty girl in every town"), although you still suspect that after the gig the singers will be given some engine oil and put away in a box.· At Oran Mor, Glasgow, on May 13. Box office: 0141-357 6225. Then touring.
