That synth line. You know the one. It starts like a warning siren—cold, metallic, and jagged—before Elly Jackson’s falsetto cuts through the digital fog. When "In for the Kill" dropped in 2009, it didn't just climb the charts. It basically rewired how we thought about pop music. This wasn't the glossy, over-produced dance-pop of the late 2000s. It was something sharper. Brittle.
Honestly, the song In for the Kill is a masterclass in tension. It’s a track that feels like it’s perpetually leaning forward, teetering on the edge of a breakdown that never quite happens. It made La Roux (the duo consisting of singer Elly Jackson and producer Ben Langmaid) a household name almost overnight. But looking back from 2026, the story of this track is way more than just a catchy hook. It’s about a specific moment in London’s musical history where synth-pop met the underground club scene and created something immortal.
The Raw DNA of In for the Kill
Let’s be real: the 80s influence on this track is huge, but it isn’t a tribute act. Langmaid and Jackson were obsessed with the Yamaha EM-101 and the Roland System-100. They weren't trying to sound like Lady Gaga; they were trying to sound like The Human League if they’d grown up on a diet of grime and dubstep. That’s why the song feels so sparse. There’s a lot of "air" in the mix.
Most pop songs are layered with a thousand tracks of vocals and synths to make them sound "big." This song does the opposite. It relies on a few, very distinct sounds that have to work incredibly hard. Jackson’s voice is the centerpiece. It’s piercing. Some people at the time found it polarizing because it lacked that warm, vibrato-heavy soulfulness that dominated the radio. But that was the point. It was "Androgynous Pop" for a new generation.
🔗 Read more: The Movie Avatar the Last Airbender 2: Why M. Night Shyamalan’s Sequel Never Happened
The lyrics are equally uncompromising. "I'm going in for the kill / I'm doing it for a thrill." It’s a predatory, high-stakes metaphor for desire. It isn't a "love" song in the traditional sense. It’s a song about the hunt. The pursuit. That’s why it resonated so heavily in clubs; it captured that frantic, slightly desperate energy of a night out where everything is at stake.
That Skream Remix: A Cultural Pivot
You can’t talk about this song without talking about Skream. If the original was a synth-pop gem, the "Skream's Let's Get Ravey Remix" was a cultural earthquake. It’s arguably one of the most important remixes in the history of electronic music.
Before this remix, dubstep was still largely an underground UK phenomenon. It was dark, bass-heavy, and mostly lived in tiny, sweat-drenched clubs in South London. Skream took Elly’s fragile vocals and slowed them down, stretching them over a massive, wobbling bassline that felt like it was vibrating your very DNA.
- It introduced a massive mainstream audience to the "wobble."
- It proved that dubstep could be melodic and emotional, not just aggressive.
- The remix actually rivaled the original in terms of longevity and cultural impact.
Suddenly, you’d hear the song In for the Kill at a high-end fashion show and then, three hours later, hear the Skream version at a warehouse rave. It bridged the gap. It made the underground accessible without stripping away its soul. Without that remix, the American "EDM explosion" of the 2010s might have looked very different.
Why It Still Works (and Why Most Covers Fail)
A lot of artists have tried to cover this song. They usually make the same mistake: they try to make it pretty. They add acoustic guitars or soft piano, thinking that stripping away the synths will reveal some hidden folk ballad.
They’re wrong.
The "soul" of the track is actually in its mechanical coldness. The contrast between the human vulnerability of Elly's voice and the rigid, unforgiving pulse of the synthesizers is where the magic happens. If you make it "warm," you lose the tension.
The song's structure is also deceptively complex. It doesn't follow the standard verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus formula perfectly. It feels more like a loop that gradually intensifies. By the time the final chorus hits, the synths are screaming alongside the vocals. It’s exhausting in the best way possible.
The Production Secrets of La Roux
Ben Langmaid’s production on the self-titled La Roux album was famously meticulous. They used vintage gear because they wanted "imperfections." Modern digital synths are often too perfect; they’re too clean. Using older hardware meant that the sounds had a bit of grit—a bit of hiss.
In "In for the Kill," the percussion is remarkably thin. It’s almost entirely high-end—snaps, clicks, and tight snares. There isn't a heavy kick drum thumping away in the original version. This was a radical choice for a dance-pop song. It forces the listener to focus on the melody and the rhythmic interplay of the synth lines rather than just nodding their head to a beat.
The Legacy of a Neon Era
The song In for the Kill arrived at the tail end of the "Indie Sleaze" era and the beginning of the "Synth-Pop Revival." It paved the way for artists like Robyn (during her Body Talk era) and eventually the darker, more industrial pop of the late 2010s.
It also marked a moment of visual branding. Elly Jackson’s quiff and structured suits became as iconic as the song itself. It was a complete package. In an era where pop stars were expected to be hyper-feminine, La Roux offered a different path—one that was sharp, queer-coded, and fiercely independent.
Actionable Takeaways for Music Fans and Creators
If you’re a producer, study the frequency space in this track. Notice how the vocals never fight the synths. They occupy entirely different "shelves" in the mix.
For the casual listener, try listening to the original and the Skream remix back-to-back. It’s a perfect lesson in how tempo and "weight" can completely change the emotional context of the same set of lyrics.
If you want to dive deeper into this sound, check out these specific records that share the same DNA:
- Yazoo - Upstairs at Eric's: For that raw, vocal-meets-analog-synth power.
- Kavinsky - Nightcall: If you like the cinematic, "driving at night" vibe.
- The Human League - Dare: The blueprint for everything La Roux did.
The song In for the Kill isn't just a nostalgia trip. It’s a reminder that pop music is at its best when it’s a little bit weird, a little bit cold, and totally unafraid to go for the throat. It remains a benchmark for how to use minimalism to create something massive.
Next Steps for Your Playlist:
Find the 2009 Kanye West remix of "In for the Kill" (yes, it exists). It's a fascinating, often-forgotten artifact that shows just how much the hip-hop world was paying attention to what was happening in the UK synth scene at the time. Compare his vocal processing to the original to see how two different genres handle the same melody.