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Jul 21, 2014At only nine tracks long, but with every one of them worthy of single status, it displays, as pop albums go, both rare economy and staggering consistency.
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Jul 17, 2014In truth, the songwriting quality never really dips. Almost sickeningly overburdened with fantastic tunes, Trouble in Paradise may well be not just a triumph against the odds, but the best pop album we'll hear this year.
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Jul 21, 2014In spite of all the terror and uncertainty, it's the warmth that lingers.
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Jul 16, 2014This polished set is pure aural candy from front-to-back and firmly re-establishes Jackson as one of Britain’s premier pop talents.
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Aug 4, 2014La Roux’s march may has slowed to a stroll, but she proves here that she can captivate at any pace.
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Jul 24, 2014The laid-back riffs and grooves are balanced by big hooks and melodies that make the most of Jackson’s airy (and refreshingly unprocessed-sounding) voice.
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Jul 22, 2014Jackson writes open-endedly, shifting between direct experience and metaphor; mysteries left unsolved by her lyrics and persona are alternately heightened and resolved by the hurt in her voice, the assuredness of her arrangements.
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Jul 21, 2014Jackson is more adventurous here.
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Jul 18, 2014Tearing its way through nine songs of heady, humid, pop music in quick, effortless succession, La Roux is quickly establishing herself as a formidable force of pop, and it will be interesting to see where Elly Jackson goes from here.
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Jul 15, 2014Elly Jackson firmly takes control of her career and delivers a tremendously confident second album, one that repositions La Roux and has a whole lot of fun while doing so.
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Jul 15, 2014There’s a notable evolution here, and we see the lone Jackson strive for something you can sink your teeth into over the course of a few days, weeks, month, rather than something you can insufflate at a club in the space of a few minutes.
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Q MagazineJul 7, 2014There's barely a wasted note on these nine tracks. [Aug 2014, p.104]
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UncutJul 7, 2014A much warmer, more luxurious record than the brittle debut, the shrillness wiped from Jackson's voice in favour of uncontrived and appealing attitude. [Aug 2014, p.74]
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Jul 22, 2014A welcome, long-awaited return after a troubled hiatus, but it hums along comfortably without striking any innovative poses.
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Jul 22, 2014Is Trouble In Paradise a groundbreaking work of unparalleled foresight and talent? No. But is it a spectacular assessment of La Roux’s painfully progressive growth over the past half-decade? Maybe.
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Jul 31, 2014Trouble in Paradise is at once sleek and solid, every track pulsing with a kind of confidence that invites closer listening but is equally pleasant as a collection of mood-heightening jams.
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Jul 25, 2014On par with that debut? Not quite, but there's still plenty here to lift a pop fan's spirits, or potentially lift one's arse off the couch, if that's where it's currently posted.
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Jul 21, 2014With songs like this, Trouble in Paradise proves Jackson is still better than many of her contemporaries when it comes to making fizzy electro-pop.
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Jul 8, 2014Her vintage synth-pop magnificence (see 2009's hit "Bulletproof") has warmed into the sort of electro-disco drama you imagine the Daft Punk robots blasting as they cruise down Highway 1.
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Jul 7, 2014Even if she doesn't match the heights of Florence, she can rest easy knowing she's made much better records.
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Jul 21, 2014It’s been five years since those initial encounters, yet, as with all close friendships, the dialogue still flows as comfortably as ever across La Roux’s sophomore LP, Trouble in Paradise.... Still a pop record at the end of the day, the album is not without its share of weak lyrics.
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Jul 23, 2014For all Jackson's personal struggle and exploration, Paradise feels like a safe record, calibrated for the comfort of an imagined audience, working at its best when it becomes almost invisible--the accessory to the experience and not the experience itself.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 91 out of 107
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Mixed: 9 out of 107
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Negative: 7 out of 107
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Jul 30, 2014
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Jul 28, 2014
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Jul 22, 2014