Three years after the UK music media invented then perpetuated a non-genre called Nu-Rave (remember that guys?) – Klaxons, the poster boys for said genre’s glow stick hedonism and day-glo paraphernalia return with the first taste of their sophomore album, the tentatively titled “Surfing The Void”. The first track is called “Flashover” and though it’s more guitar driven than the sirens and synths of their 2007 debut, Myths Of The Near Future, the occult-referencing lyrics and breakneck rhythm section remain unscathed. And really, they were the best bits.
Initially the band had to scrap an album’s worth of psychedelic material (recorded with James Ford of Simian Mobile Disco) after label executives deemed the work too inaccessible. Which is kind of like an MGMT sliding doors scenario when you think about it. Instead of releasing a less accessible psychedelic sophomore, the band proceeded to re-record the album with Ross Robinson whose previous charges include Korn, Slipknot, At The Drive In and Limp Bizkit. Or acts that Klaxons now share a sonic affinity with, as opposed to bands that start with New and end with Young Pony Club.
Having said that, the sound is still unmistakably Klaxons – it’s just a denser, more muscular incarnation and that’s great for listeners and even better for the death of Nu Rave. If you can, in fact, kill that which never existed in the first place. Have a listen below…
