BY BRENTON WOODROW

Ladytron has premiered a new music video alongside their single “City of Angels” from their upcoming album ‘Time’s Arrow’.

Ladytron’s use of minimalist, repetitive lyrics provides space for storytelling and artistry in their music videos. Their videos have often focused on the observation of others and the eyes of characters or band members. “City of Angels” focuses on two characters, a person in black and a person in red. The person in black reminds us of the dancing teens from “Seventeen”, losing themselves in the dance. Capturing band members on film and developing the film puts this character into a trance-like state. The character in red reflects the character in black but is stoic and tall, perhaps symbolizing authority observing youth frivolity. The character red becomes the puppet master for the dance as the character in black further loses herself. The powerful conclusion of the video comes when the character in black takes charge and reaches out to touch the character in red.

The chorus gives the viewer a possible interpretation of the story being told. “All the tricks you know in a flash of light. The love you bring and the cherished things you do”. “City of Angels” brings people in through the allure of flashing lights and the promise of love. We lose ourselves to that environment and get swept up in the dance becoming puppets to the puppet master.

It’s only through facing the puppet master do we realize that we’ve been propping it up and giving it power over us.

Ladytron has a history of setting the tone of their albums through their music videos and if “City of Angels” is any indication of what’s to come in ‘Time’s Arrow’, fans are in for a treat.