It’s a beautiful thing to see a band expand and congeal over the years. 604 brought Ladytron onto the music scene with beautiful techno pop. Light & Magic gained them more exposure as they thickened their sound quite a bit. Witching Hour had them dabbling with sounds usually associated with goth and industrial while still firmly harnessing their club/pop sound. Liverpool’s Ladytron’s latest endeavor, Velocifero, comes out at you with the dark and grimey opener of Black Cat flowing into a seemingly darker Ghosts. That’s where LT flips the script exposing an ethereal verse on top of haunted beats. This relationship of underworld rhythms and heavenly vocals permeates throughout the rest of the album, and shows Ladytron at the height of their musical prowess, getting every ounce of emotion out of a genre they’ve helped define.
mp3: Ladytron - Ghosts
A day with multiple shows!! Tonight in DC there’s the big Verizon Center show with Coldplay. Or if you want to scale it down, I suggest the Red and the Black. They’ve got Hammer No More The Fingers, Seamonsters, and Johnny Action Figure playing tonight. Also if you’re in Philly, don’t forget that it’s Wednesday and Rickie Lee Jones is continuing her residency at The Painted Bride Art Center.
Earlier this year NYC’s The Bloodsugars released a 6 song EP, BQEP, and, luckily for me, I was able to give it a spin. I was impressed. The Bloodsugars take well written pop songs and let them blossom through band collaboration. This may sound unimportant, but they succeed where so many bands fall short. Jason Rabinowitz (lead singer/primary songwriter) composes multi-layered pop songs similar to the expansive form Voxtrot brings, and, like Voxtrot, each member really invests themselves fully, maturing the songs into being complex emotional performances. Amazing to hear from a debut. The Bloodsugars are definitely a band to look out for.
Recently the dance floor has invaded indie music and I couldn’t be happier. The Black Ghosts, Simian’s Simon Lord and The Wiseguy’s Theo Keating, are set to keep it moving with their new LP on July 8th. This album blends the soulful yet meek vocals of Lord with a multitude of disco electronics that are sure to draw fans from everywhere. What makes The Black Ghosts so appealing (at least to me) is the underlying musical heritage evident in Lord and Keating’s compositions. They’re not just two guys with computers. Keating was crate digging at 12 and a respected DJ by the time he was 16. Lord’s grandfather was an accomplished oboe player for the London Symphony Orchestra and matter-of-factly played down his contributions to many Beatles’ hits — a lasting impression on Lord. This musical history rises from the dust of each song capturing that mystic quality that doesn’t seem to let me turn it off. Of course it also doesn’t hurt that their first single, Repetition, is a gorgeous pop song featuring Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz). So go ahead and indulge yourself this summer with The Black Ghosts. Check their 
Well July is getting off to a slow start as shows are concerned. If you find yourself searching for a good one, you might want to check Birds & Batteries, Your Black Star, and Don’t Be Glib at the Red and the Black in DC tonight. Enjoy!
All the shows must have went on vacation this week, but there is one good one around town. In DC the Black Cat has Takka Takka, Frightened Rabbit, and Oxford Collapse. Go on down there because everything else seems a little slow…including myself. 
Hindsight
Tonight in DC is a fabulous show at the Red and the Black with Austin’s Belaire, or if you’re going for a more mainstream flavor, then why not go big at the Wachovia Spectrum in Philly with Coldplay. That’s it? 
Tonight in Baltimore, Metro Gallery has Ulrich Schnauss, Screen Vinyl Image, Luxa, and Auburn Hill. If you head somewhat south to Columbia, MD, Merriweather Post has a great show with Thievery Corporation, TV on the Radio, Ladytron, Turntables on the Hudson, and Federico Aubele. Finally in Philly, the Troc has Toadies, Lions, and Nowhere. Photo by Mike Sharpe
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