We don’t hate everything here at hecklerspray HQ, you know. Why, only the other day, one of our writers had a can of Lucozade which he referred to as "quite refreshing in an alright sort of way." See? There’s love to be had. You just need to deserve it.

Ladytron (CDs), we’re pleased to report, most definitely do. Those of us who’ve been following the cheeky electropop scousers since their early days had been getting a bit worried of late: it had been almost three years since their last album – the sublime Light And Magic – and it was looking like they weren’t coming back.

Another casualty of the great British music ‘scene’, it seemed like Ladytron had been swept away and forgotten in favour of more-haircut-than-man retro tossers like the Kaiser Chiefs (CDs) or (shudder) Razorlight (CDs). Something which – for a band responsible for Blue Jeans, possibly the best pop record of the last five years – would be nothing less than criminal.

Imagine our joy, then, when we noticed that the Tronmeisters had
swung open the saloon doors and strolled back into town, clutching with
them their fantastic new single Sugar – a belting, shimmering, preening, pouting, synth-powered style-beast of a tune that’s going to jump into your head, set up a tent and sit there humming itself for the rest of the season.

And the even better news? August will see the release of new album Witching Hour. It’s their third long-player and looks all set to be their best yet.

Sugar is out on CD on Monday, and can be found nestling on iTunes and Napster right this very minute. Interested in hearing more? Good.

Now… if we can only get M83 (CDs) to the top of the charts, then we’ll be really happy.

[story by C J Davies]