| Product Summary | | Label: Msi Music | | UPC: 00602517206526 | | Release Date: 3/27/2007 | | Buy.com Sku: 204041153 | | Item#: M3FG2Y | Format:  CD |
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(P) 2006 Klaxons under exclusive license to Geffen Records
(C) 2006 Klaxons
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| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | Born in a flurry of N.M.E-derived hype, Klaxons have referred to their music as "nu-rave" or an updated version of the neo-psychedelic dance rock that made Manchester famous. While the Madchester bands were swirling revisions of classic rock--basically the Stones on really good ecstasy--Klaxons' touchstones on their full-length debut, MYTHS OF THE NEAR FUTURE, are all post-punk. If these tracks are rave anthems, they are speedier, more claustrophobic ones, hardly the loose, hedonistic experiments of their forebears. | | Nonetheless, MYTHS OF THE NEAR FUTURE's first several cuts are a dance-punk statement of purpose. "Two Receivers" lays groovy overdriven drums under layers of piano arpeggios, while "Atlantis to Interzone" warps guitar and synth lines around a hi-hat and rides it to nightclub nirvana. "Golden Skans" finds singer-guitarist Jamie Reynolds channeling his inner Robert Smith, and on "Totem on the Timeline" the London trio shouts a melody reminiscent of LOW-era Bowie. While MYTHS OF THE NEAR FUTURE treads much of the same territory rhythmically as Britain's recent spate of dance rockers, the intense, psilocybic production values and great hooks keep this collection ahead of the pack. | | Breathlessly anointed by the British press as pioneers of the "new rave" movement, Klaxons aren't quite as radical on Myths of the Near Future as they've been made out to be -- but they're not as grating as the hype around them would suggest, either. Their sound is closer to dance-punk than revamped Madchester giddiness, more like Bloc Party before they got very, very serious than the Happy Mondays or Stone Roses. "Atlantis to Interzone" is the band's most overtly dancey song. Opening with shouts of "DJ!" sirens and guitars that sound sampled, but aren't, then segueing to beats and rhythms that soar and plunge like a roller coaster, the song is the closest approximation of what a "new rave" would actually sound like. Fortunately, though, Klaxons don't limit themselves to a strict diet of shouty vocals, angular guitars, and loping basslines (though these are all present and accounted for on less interesting tracks like "Magick" and "Four Horsemen of 2012"). Myths of the Near Future's layered, deep-focus production prevents the band's sound from getting too boxed-in, elevating "Forgotten Works" and "Isle of Her" with choral vocals and a chilly atmosphere reminiscent of Gary Numan, "Ashes to Ashes" Bowie, and the colder side of Wire. Paradoxically, Klaxons' more classic leanings are what make Myths of the Near Future's best songs sound fresh. "As Above, So Below," "Gravity's Rainbow," "Golden Skans," and "It's Not Over Yet" range from brisk, witty pop to radiant ballads, but they all boast hooks and melodies that many of Klaxons' more straightforward indie contemporaries would be proud to call their own. It's a little uneven and definitely not the reinvention of music as we know it, but Myths of the Near Future is a strong enough debut to survive a level of hype that has crushed other bands, and enjoyable enough to return to when the hype dies down. ~ Heather Phares |
| | Artist Overview | | Based in New Cross, London, the Klaxons emerged at the forefront of the "new rave" movement that sprang up in the U.K. during 2005 and 2006. Citing influences as eclectic as Can, Madonna, and Green Velvet, their debut album, MYTHS OF THE NEAR FUTURE, included a version of "Not Over Yet" by rave act Grace. The Klaxons' siren-infused sound managed to distil the rave experience using standard rock-&-roll instrumentation, much like the Happy Mondays had done in the early-'90s Madchester scene. |
| | Compilation Appearances |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 03/27/2007 | | Original Release Date : 2007 | | Catalog ID : GEFF-120542 | | Label : Geffen Records (USA) | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Runtime : 36m : 31s | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00602517206526 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Entertainment Weekly (p.75)
- "[Y]ou don't need a literature degree to appreciate the hooks and glorious, frenetic rhythms of the Gorillaz-esque 'Golden Skans' or 'Gravity's Rainbow'..."Q (p.99)
- 3 stars out of 5 -- "[W]afting harmonies over treated indie band arrangements, with literary lyrics..." Q (Magazine)
(p.76)
- Ranked #32 in Q's "The 50 Best Albums Of 2007" -- "[O]ne of 2007's most exciting newcomers." |
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