2. La Roux – Trouble In Paradise
Despite not picking up a grammy nomination or being a massive critical success like her self-titled album, La Roux’s “difficult” second album showcases Elly Jackson’s ability at writing incredibly catchy songs. ‘Trouble In Paradise‘ represents Jacksons best work to date and while the her label may have dropped the ball a little, the album is one of the few pop records of 2014 that doesn’t rely on marketing gimicks and buzzwords. Instead what you have is some of the most memorable tracks of 2014. Quite why the album didn’t hit the spot commercial is a bit of mystery but if you listen to one pop record this year let it be this one.
Having caught the Manchester date of her UK tour, where Jackson and Co sold out the Ritz on cold Sunday evening, the album performs ever better in a live setting than it does in a home listening environment. Just like Daft Punk, Jackson has seemingly ditched the laptop in favour of real musicians and more traditional recording process and it shows, ‘Trouble In Paradise’ sounds like it was created with love, care and money – and that can’t often be replicated on a computer.
Written by Andrew Rafter
