La Roux Declare '80s-Inspired Synth Genre 'Over'

Fans of La Roux's synth-driven pop might be in for a surprise come 2011. Singer Elly Jackson tells Spinner that for the group's second album, she "growing up a bit" and looking to head in new directions.

"I don't want to make synth music for the rest of my f---ing life," Jackson says. "It was a time when I was into that, but whatever, it's done with, it's gone. The whole genre is so over. It was my thing and I'm bored with it. If I see anything more '80s-themed, I'm going to bust."

Over the last year, La Roux have bubbled up from the underground UK club scene to mainstream pop success in the States. Though the success of their two singles, 'Bulletproof' and 'In for the Kill,' may seem recent, the songs have been in Jackson's repertoire for some time now.

"I'm impatient for a new direction as anybody else is, but I think it's going to be a bit of a new discovery," Jackson says. "No more than six months from now, we'll be really pushing it. But at the same time, we have some experimenting to be done. I know what my influences are, so there's no problem there."

With a yearning to ditch the synth, Jackson's new work could possibly find her tapping into acoustic instruments that will forge a new sound around what's become a rather distinct characteristic of La Roux: her voice.

"I want [the next album] to be more human, more open, warmer," she explains. "Short and sweet is really the way it goes down. I don't like 14-track albums anymore. I want it to be nine or 10 tracks; sort of a brick of work. We're not one of those artists that writes 50 songs and picks the 10 best ones. We write 10 songs and every one will go on the record."

La Roux will kick off the last leg of their seemingly never-ending tour on Nov. 1 at Ft. Lauderdale's Culture Room.