musicOMH
Twitter
Klaxons - Myths Of The Near Future (Polydor)
UK release date: 29 January 2007
3 stars
Klaxons - Myths Of The Near Future

buy this title


track listing

1. Two Receivers
2. Atlantis To Interzone
3. Golden Skans
4. Totem On The Timeline
5. As Above So Below
6. Isle Of Her
7. Gravity's Rainbow
8. Forgotten Works
9. Magick
10. It's Not Over Yet
11. Four Horsemen Of 2012
"I would sum up my fear about the future in one word: boring. And that's my one fear: that everything has happened; nothing exciting or new or interesting is ever going to happen again... the future is just going to be a vast, conforming suburb of the soul."

October 1982. JG Ballard was giving an interview on the back of the release of his collection of short stories, Myths of the Near Future. There are two sides to this coin of thought of course.

Exciting though they were when they first emerged in early 2006, the Klaxons exploded from the New Cross scene of art rockers and new wavers. In passing they jokingly mentioned the now fragrant colloquialism "new rave", opening the doors for the many knocking about now, but more importantly, it brought the indie and dance crowds close enough to snort a line off each other's knuckles.

And so followed a giddy berth of singles in six months (Gravity's Rainbow, Atlantis To Interzone, Magick) which make it onto this album. Thing is, they double dropped, which you should never do unless you're absolutely sure you're prepared for later in the night.

If anyone expected a pulsating collection of "rave", they've been easily misled by the band's gimmicky videos and a press that should've known better. Its actually more in line with the scene they're from: experimental, some time new wave and gleeful pop moments, which takes a leaf from its biggest exports, Bloc Party.

Isle Of Her clunks along repetitively in its robotic march of synth and interloping vocals. Forgotten Works is a 4am trip in a maze of smoke and blue light. Their Grace cover (and now permanent live fixture) It's Not Over Yet is a surprisingly sober affair which does little justice to the original classic.

If the Four Horsemen of 2012 showed up six years ago it would have been termed nu metal. If it weren't for the big three singles above and the habitually contagious Golden Skans standing well above the rest of the album, there would be nothing new or interesting about Myths.

Ballard once said: "Pop artists deal with the lowly trivia of possessions and equipment that the present generation is lugging along with it on its safari into the future." Perhaps. While Klaxons are at times too cosmetic for their own good, they make this jungle expedition a little more worthwhile. That's not fiction either, it's mere fact.

  share: 
Facebook | Digg | del.icio.us | more
from the archive
Damon Albarn Graham Coxon Alex James




out this week:
Tinariwen - Imidiwan: Companions La Roux - La Roux Moby - Wait For Me
coming soon:
Florence And The Machine - Lungs The Duckworth Lewis Method Slow Club - Yeah So
recent releases:
Jack Penate - Everything Is New Gossip - Music For Men Tortoise - Beacons Of Ancestorship
Regina Spektor - Far The Mars Volta - Octahedron Dinosaur Jr - Farm
EAR PWR - Super Animal Brothers III Sonic Youth - The Eternal Future Of The Left - Travels With Myself And One Other
Little Boots - Hands Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum Placebo - Battle For The Sun
more album reviews
TOP ARTICLES NOW
COMMENT: Most Read Album Reviews: 2009 Q2

COMMENT: Michael Jackson dies: a first reaction

FESTIVAL PREVIEW: Latitude 2009

FESTIVAL PREVIEW: Field Day 2009

FESTIVAL PREVIEW: Glade Festival 2009

GIG: The Dead Weather: Jack White's latest supergroup hits London

ALBUM: Tinariwen: Imidiwan: Companions

ALBUM: La Roux: La Roux

ALBUM: The Duckworth Lewis Method: The Duckworth Lewis Method

RELATED ARTICLES
INTERVIEW:
Klaxons

ALBUM:
Klaxons - Myths Of The Near Future

GIG:
Klaxons @ o2 Arena, London

GIG:
Klaxons @ Barfly, London

TRACK:
Klaxons - Gravity's Rainbow

TRACK:
Klaxons - Golden Skans

TRACK:
Klaxons - Magick

TRACK:
Klaxons - Atlantis To Interzone

EXTERNAL LINKS
Klaxons



  more album reviews...


Reading Festival tickets | Leeds Festival tickets
musicOMH
about us
contact us
copyright
home page
elsewhere
Twitter
Facebook
Last.fm
MySpace
© 1999-2009 OMH