The following is a conversation between Balthazar Monsoon and myself. It is edited only so that: a) You can't find us on AIM; b) It makes sense; c) It's not so long and tedious and d) Blogger doesn't turn the conversation into a series of odd squares and squiggly lines.

LO: So, what is your honest opinion of Witching Hour?

BM: I like it. Most bands are trying to recreate what they did on the previous album and end up being a parody of themself (i.e. depeche mode's Exiter), but Ladytron has progressed on Witching Hour. They've got their synths, but they've added some guitars, which is good.

LO: You think that Exciter is self-parody? I wasn't that hot on the album, but self-parody seems a bit more like Madonna's American Life album.

BM: That too. Madonna doesn't even know what she's doing anymore.

LO: I'll tell you that I honestly love this album. I think it shows Ladytron's development as a band and expands upon the Krautrockish influences of the first two albums (primarily the debut). However, I have a feeling they just signed a death sentence.

BM: Oh yeah, people who loved their 80s synth sound are going to be upset.

LO: Think about it, this is a band that was associated with the whole "electroclash" thing, which in a way fizzled, but then was reborn as Madonna's current output, Gwen Stefani's solo album and a crapload of hip hop artists. If their first major label release was as easy to throw into the 80s revival market as the first two, it would probably explode. However, the album is already out and NOBODY is playing it. Nor are there any major magazine articles.

BM: Are you serious? That's a crying shame.

LO: Seriously, I listen to KROQ and Indie everyday and haven't heard it on either. I also ready pretty much everything at the magazine stand. Come to think of it, I haven't heard it on KCRW or KXLU either.

BM: Wow.

LO: I think it has too much going on artistically for an industry as conservative as the music industry to handle. I feel sad saying that because this is my favorite Ladytron album.

BM: Yeah, it's rather varied.

LO: "Destroy Everything You Touch" is one of the best songs they've written. It's on par with, if not better than, "Playgirl."

BM: I'm listening to that now. I'm grooving to it.

LO: And it should be able to hit the alternative market in the way that the bigger shoegaze artists did in the early 1990s.

BM: Oh, totally.

LO: There is something over the whole album that reminds me of Lush and My Bloody Valentine.

BM: Seriously. You could totally play MBV's "Soon" right after "Everything You Touch."

LO: That's what I was thinking! Also, we have to mention Spacemen 3. ..I would bet that they were listening to Spacemen 3 before recording this.

BM: MBV was on the Softcore Jukebox compilation, as were !!! and the Fall. I'm thinking SJ was a mixed cd of their influences.

LO: Makes perfect sense. I'm really happy that they have gone further with the psyche influence here.

BM: I like this shift they did.

LO: Yeah, it works well. I don't think that a lot of the other bands who had the synth influence going in the early-2000s could do something like this.

BM: Totally.

LO: But, then, even 604 was more Stereolab than Larry Tee.

LO: BTW, the keyboards on "Soft Power" remind me of "I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight," despite the fact that the song overall sounds like Legendary Pink Dots c. 1990.

BM: You're right about the synths on "Soft Power."

LO: There's another song on here "Fighting in Built Up Areas" that reminds me of [Serge Gainsbourg's song] "Contact." I'm trying to figure out what language they use on that song.

BM: It's probably Bulgarian. She did "Nuhorizons" in Bulgarian.

LO: Yeah, I wish they had a lyric sheet. Any final comments on the album?

BM: This album shows more of their influences on the SJ compilations. You can hear MBV, !!! and The Fall rather clearly as well and the Nancy Sinatra vocal influence. This may not be a commercial success, but it's a damn good album.