The Lowdown: Album of ethereal, light, repetitive, formulaic songs is unique but ultimately very boring and extremely forgettable.
Formula for a Trouble In Paradise song
1. Drawn-out intro, usually involving Get Lucky guitar (0:30)
2. Short verse of slightly distorted high pitched vocals (0:30)
3. "Hook" (repetition of one line- in a rare event two- for 1:00)
4. Unnecessary, long instrumental section (1:30)
5. Short verse of slightly distorted high pitched vocals (0:30)
6. "Hook" (1:00)
7. Short outro (0:15)
Trouble In Paradise is very cohesive, but only because all of the songs follow the same formula. It is unique, but the same elements are used in every song. Unfortunately, those elements get boring after 42 minutes of listening to them relentlessly repeated. The album starts off with
Uptight Downtown. This song is very retro, with a simple drum machine beat and a funky guitar. It was hard for me to tell when the verse became the chorus, and when the post-chorus instrumental became the bridge. It seemed as if La Roux had run out of ideas, as the final two minutes of the song consisted of recycled material from earlier in the track. This trend continued with
Kiss And Not Tell, which contained a light and fluffy (and mediocre) first verse with a decent vocal delivery that was ruined by a pitiful guitar. The chorus was again unremarkable and not different at all from the verses. Even though it was just as repetitive as
Uptight Downtown, it didn't get as boring. Track no. 3,
Cruel Sexuality, is easily the most personal song on the album and the one with the most thought-provoking lyrical content. This song could very well be written about herself, and it came with an intriguing but laid-back intro. I really wanted the intensity of the song to kick up a bit but that never happened and this very dreamy song, after the first minute, was like a three minute fade-out. It did, however, produce the line "I don't even know myself, because I'm becoming something else," which I thought was the best line on the whole album.
Paradise In You follows with an elegant piano intro that is quickly tarnished by overproduced vocals. As with
Cruel Sexuality, this track was too mellow for me and was not entertaining. In fact, I got excited when drums began to beat in the background almost three minutes into the song. However, the drums and my excitement dissolved as the song turned into basic soft vocals over an uninteresting arrangement of synths. Very anticlimactic.
Sexotheque is the best song on the album, at a 4 out of 10. Its chipper instrumental would be better suited for a power-pop song, not a minimalist electronic track. The lyrics are somewhat clever but by now I am tired of the guitar.
Tropical Chancer is next, and true to its name it contains a horrific impression of an island beat. A xylophone is used, which sounds good but is extremely out of place on this album full of light synth lines, soft drums, and funky guitar. I was taking notes on each song as I listened to this album, and I wrote the least for this song (just one sentence). Like most of this album, it got boring quickly and continued that way until the end of the song.
Silent Partner is every song on this album on steroids. Although the beat is okay and it is a passable electronic song, it drags on to the point where it is unpleasant. this song is trying to do too much with too little. It even teases you five minutes in with a brief period of complete silence, only to continue for another two minutes with no new content whatsoever. Unlike most of the songs on the album, this song's hook (which was probably half of the song at least) was the same
three lines over and over again, instead of one.
Let Me Down Gently is possibly the worst song on the album, though it's hard to tell because all of the songs pretty much sound the same. The instrumental manages to be even more basic than most of the stuff on the album; La Roux seems to have noticed this as the beat completely switches two and a half minutes in. This beat was slightly better but the vocals were still boring and lyrically this song could be interpreted a hundred different ways, and I don't say that as a compliment.
The Feeling mercifully ends the album with haunting vocals and a beat that I could've sworn I heard on the album 30 minutes ago. There is again not much of a hook and again the song lacks substance and excitement. I didn't take too many notes on this song either.
Trouble In Paradise establishes La Roux as the electro-pop DJ Mustard in terms of instrumental originality. All of the songs were boring for an extended period of time and most did not come with lyrical substance. If I were to review the first minute of every song on this album I would give a much higher score. Unfortunately, this album is anticlimactic and extremely forgettable.
Reviews:
Drake - 0 to 100 / The Catch Up (4.0)
La Roux - Trouble In Paradise (2.3)
Azealia Banks - Heavy Metal and Reflective (2.0)
Jessie J, Ariana Grande, & Nicki Minaj - Bang Bang (5.8)
Hilary Duff - Chasing The Sun (0.5)
Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga - Anything Goes (4.9)
Nicki Minaj - Anaconda (2.0)
Beyoncé f/Nicki Minaj - ***Flawless Remix (3.7)
Pixie Lott - Pixie Lott (6.0)
FKA Twigs - LP1 (1.7)
Hilary Duff - All About You (4.1)
Taylor Swift - Shake It Off (7.1)
Charli XCX - Break The Rules (4.6)
Ariana Grande - My Everything (5.2)
Maroon 5 - V (5.4)
Banks - Goddess (8.2)
Calvin Harris f/John Newman - Blame (8.6)
Lorde - Yellow Flicker Beat (8.8)
Fergie - L.A.LOVE (la la) (2.5)
LIGHTS - Little Machines (6.7)
One Direction - Steal My Girl (2.0)
Carrie Underwood - Something In The Water (5.3)
Gwen Stefani - Baby Don't Lie (5.4)
Iggy Azalea f/MŘ - Beg For It (7.7)
Easily (and obviously) a 10/10 
