Emerging back in mid-1998, prior to the surge of slick sounding, 80s-influenced music that has emerged over the past several years, Ladytron has defined their own brand of music and stuck with their roots over the years.

In support of both this new release, as well as their 2005 release “Witching Hour”, the Britain-based band embarked on their first American tour in more than three years that ended on May 3. At the last leg of their tour, Ladytron performed in San Francisco on April 28 at a sold-out midnight performance at the Mezzanine. This past April they released a new album available only in North America, entitled “Extended Play,” that was composed of remixes, UK b-sides and a DVD.

Their blend of music is defined as “electroclash,” a new genre of music that became popular in 2001, but was founded back in the early 80s. Electroclash has a retro style, but also a romantic reaction against house music heard in clubs, with an emphasis on synthesizers, dance, with rock and punk influences included. In addition, electroclash is not just about the music, it is also about fashion and art.

The four-piece band lured audience members onto the dance floor with their stylistic beats, compelling hooks and awesome clothes. The lights were dimmed, a fog machine was used and an occasional strobe light was used to create the mood for the evening.
Singers Helen Marnie and Mira Aroyo were the two standouts for the band. Both on the keyboards, Marnie sang lead vocals and Aroyo occasionally joined in. Daniel Hunt, on the drums, and Reuben Wu, on another set of keyboards, joined the two to round out the band.

Ladytron dazzled on stage performing hits from “Witching Hour”, as well as previous albums “604” and “Light & Magic.” Fan favorites like “Playgirl,” “He Took Her To a Movie” and “Seventeen” caused cheers and dancing to erupt on the crowded dance floor. Performing a nearly two-hour set, lead singer Marnie was hypnotic with her sophisticated, yet ice-cold vocals. Aroyo chimed in a few songs to confuse the audience with her precise Bulgarian lyrics.

The song “Playgirl” mixed digital sounds with the live performance. The crowd swayed to the beat and the lyrics of the song, but by the time “Seventeen” was played, the last song of the evening and part of the three song encore, the crowd was pumped and sang along to the repeated verse: “They only want you when you’re 17, when you’re 21, you’re no fun. They take a Polaroid and let you go, say they’ll let you know, so come on.”

Ladytron projects an image that some might think is cold and stoic. On stage, Marnie and Aroyo seem to perform with little emotion as they sing. In fact, Marnie only swayed her hips and did a two-step dance for a few of the songs. As for Hunt and Wu, they went almost unnoticed in the background. The band rarely interacted with the crowd, except when Marnie would walk close to the crowd. Yet, the audience did not seem to mind.

It seemed like the crowd was lost in their own world. For some, memories of previous Ladytron concerts and the old feelings that Ladytron’s music brings were surfaced. For others, a newfound love for Ladytron’s version of electroclash and the unique experience that they deliver made it a very memorable show.