Paradoxically, Klaxons' more classic leanings are what make Myths of the Near Future's best songs sound fresh. 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. 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"). 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. "Atlantis to Interzone" is the band's most overtly dancey song. 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. Along with Sounds of Silver, Myths of the Near Future is thus far the best dance (rock) album of 2007 that you can rock (dance)-out to.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. Literate and soulful, the hybrid is the perfect vehicle to get your limbs and gears moving. Klaxons, along with their equals, are shifting that paradigm more than meaningless fluff, this new wave has gravity. Whether solo or in harmony they are the sun around which everything orbits in perfect unison.ĭance has traditionally been more about the body than the mind. The most distinguished element in the Klaxon universe is the immensely engaging vocals of all three band members, Jamie Reynolds, James Rishton and Simon Taylor. Musically it runs the gamut, from the dark synths of Depeche Mode to the offhand grooviness of The Rapture. Lyrically it is a blast into the space-time continuum, from the mythical Cyclops in "Isle of Her," to name-dropping Julius Caesar and Mother Theresa in "Totem on the Timeline." The cosmic imagery of travel to infinity from "Gravity's Rainbow" and galloping beams from "As Above, So Below" give the album a psychedelic air as well. Myths of the Near Future succeeds on several levels. Album closer "Four Horsemen of 2012" sums it up succinctly: "We're four horsemen of 2012/ Catch that pony ride on time." And if Klaxons are to be obliged, that will occur in about five years. After all, if we're screwed anyway, we might as well shake our hips on the way. String-popping bass leads on a discotheque chorus of falsetto "ooo-ooo-aaa" to lyrics "Light touched my hands/ In a dream of golden skans/ From now on/ You can forget all future plans." This sort of apocalypse-lite theme skirts the album like an English crop circle, and is almost as fun to ponder. "Golden Skans" captures the band at its best.
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They do, moreover, come across as particularly British, and the brooding literate sensibility suggests a funkier British Sea Power with its driving rhythm and dissonant vocal hollers, "Atlantis to Interzone" could be their "Apologies to Insect Life." Distant timpani sound off like a march from outer space as they get sonically closer, the drums kick in, the synthesizers rev up, and then indelible vocal harmonics transmit one of the best opening verses in recent memory: "Krill edible oceans at their feet/ A troublesome troop out on safari/ A lullaby holds their drone in sleep." The song straight away distinguishes Klaxons as a notch above countrymen like Kaiser Chiefs and Bloc Party (with a way better name too, Klaxon is derived from the Greek "to shriek").
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Their reflectively titled debut album, Myths of the Near Future, begins with "Two Receivers," a song that just might be a classic in the upcoming present. Add to the boogie roll another one to watch: England's Klaxons. Right here, right now we get beat-bashers like LCD Soundsystem to bring out the dancefloor soft spot in dyed-in-the-wool rockers. Even Duran Duran's 1983 disco staple, "Hungry Like the Wolf," was pretty rockin'. The English Beat, New Order, and Nine Inch Nails have all trafficked in profuse elements of both. "If rock and dance were two businesses, a case could be made for talking in terms of mergers and acquisitions: Is rock incorporating dance, or is dance attempting a hostile takeover of rock? For some time now the two genres have been engaged in a cautious courtship, on occasion getting pretty close.