Maybe Elly Jackson looks too much like the cross between David Bowie and Annie Lennox. And yes, her hair style is quite eccentric, to say the very least. But don't let your eyes stop what your ears shall definitely enjoy. La Roux is the musical duo to kill for, and my personal nomination for the Band of the Year for 2009. Many seem to also agree with this, as evident in La Roux's nominations as British Breakthrough Act and British Single in the 2010 Brit Awards.

Named after the colour of Ms Jackson's hair (La Roux means "the red-haired one" in French), the band consists of folk music fan Elly Jackson and Faithless' Rollo Armstrong's schoolmate, Ben Langmaid. Elly and Ben met in 2006, and worked together on an acoustic project entitled "Automan". The duo moved genre soon afterwards, and named themselves as La Roux. In fall of 2008, their debut single, "Quicksand", impressed the BBC and the Guardian. Their second single, "In for the Kill", was released in early 2009, debuting at No. 11 on the UK charts. It went on to peak at No. 2. La Roux went on for a North American tour by the summer of the same year.


La Roux's debut album feels like 80's pop, reinterpreted with the dynamics of contemporary dance. What really sets them above, though, is the raw, energetic and passionate vocals of Elly Jackson which, in my opinion, attracts parallel to greats like Kurt Cobain. In fact, Elly is known to have broken down in tears after her vocal sessions, as the recording coincide with a personal breakup. By the end of the album, one could not be blamed for feeling some kind of connection with her - such is the sincerity of La Roux's music.