KLAXONS. Well. What more can you really say? Most people know them for their 'day-glo' and 'nu-rave' days, the times when glowsticks were coming out of everyones ears and Klaxons debut was just about everywhere and exceedingly popular amongst young buzzing people. You can tell that album has definitely influenced many popular and upcoming bands that're around lately. But are they really over all that 'day-glo' and 'nu-rave'? You can't really tell by their recent new album 'Surfing The Void' but it's most definitely alot mature-er. They've gotten better; alot better I'd say.
Those 3 years since their debut album release, 'Myths Of The Near Future', have somehow passed so very quick. 'Surfing The Void' was way worth that 2-3 year wait for it though. I'm sure many people forgot about them or wondered whether they were still making music, but they doing just that. Klaxons were hid away making the wonderous and exciting new tracks that feature on said album, like a group of wizards cunduring up some mystical new potion for us all to love.
From the very first track you can tell that it's special. Their previous single, 'Echoes', left many people singing 'Echoes, from another world, turn horizons...' when pretty much no one knows what it means. I doubt the band even know themselves...maybe it just doesn't have a meaning? But it was damn right catchy, every single bit of it.
The second track which follows on is 'The Same Space' which features lots of 'Ahhhhh's to begin with and in the chorus, then goes into a lovely James & Jamie alternating singing kind of thing. The bassline and drums together complete the song perfectly and it gives the song a somewhat undescribable sound, kind of like an average 'do do do do' pulsating sound however with the rest of the instruments and vocals it makes it so much more, so much deeper, so much greater. Definitely a favourite.
'Surfing The Void' is the third song on the album with the same name as the album. Personally, I think it should have been the very first song on the album to start it up, open it up with a bang with it's vicious and repeated shouts of 'Take in Mystica!', then going onto a higher sung 'Surfing the void, light as the guide, surfing the void' which goes together hand in hand with the shouts before. This song is definitely a powerful one, literally shouting at you, grabbing your attention. To say I love it is an understatement.
This soft, gentle and calm sounding song 'Valley Of Calm Trees' is just a trick. And by trick I mean that it sounds 'calm' at the start with the soft vocals accompanied with guitar, drums and simple keyboard notes but once it get's into it, it's a right cracker. Drums everywhere, the guitar melody is big, and the simple keyboard notes are still there, and that's just the chorus alone. It has that same 'do do do do' pulsatious feel to it like 'The Same Space' but it adds something different to it, something dangerous, something so utterly cool that only Klaxons would be able to come up with a track so extraordinary yet sounds so simple and only slightly ordinary.
The start of 'Venusia' sounds like something has come and landed, like a spaceship almost, which clearly goes with the album cover perfectly. The chorus sounds like they're all calling out, crying out infact for this 'Venusia' girl, thing, object? No one will know that's for definite. One thing that we may know though, is that it may be 'peculiar' whatever it is, as it states quite plainly in the lyrics. It's interesting though. Everything about the song is interesting, but it's not a strong track on the album that leaps to me, even if they're all crying out. Not great, but not terrible but it's one I may skip.
The siren. Yes. That siren then accompained by another mystical noise and then the racket of everything coming in to then quieten down. Yes 'Extra Astronomical'. Everything about it I love. Not a bad word to say. The chorus is vibrant and catchy with the repeated words of the very song title 'Extra astronomical', but that's not even the best bit. Oh my oh my. 'Approaching systems now visible, heading for no where near home'. It's got everything. It's my favourite part of this album. It's fisty, it shouts at you to listen and it does just that. It just leaves me wanting to listen over and over and over again.
Their next single, 'Twin Flames' is tres fantastique! Chorus as upbeat, catchy and normal for a single, it's not a song that I could imagine anyone hating. It's a song that I can imagine listening to over and over, never getting bored with it. I dont feel that love is a strong enough word for how much I enjoy 'Twin Flames'. The way James Righton sings 'Visible love' and 'Conducted love' just leaves me with oodles of goosebumps jumping out onto my arms. It leaves me almost speechless. It's got so much umph and power to it, it's just THAT good, but I think that's the way with his voice. Drawing you in, so you're just wanting to hear more. Spectacular sums up this track perfectly.
'Flashover'. It's big, it's bold, it's got gut. When it goes all quiet in the middle of the track, the vocals jump out at you saying 'Here comes the flashover' then going into it all again. All the noise, all the roaring, great big sound that is this song. 'Never seen before, others bring new dawns, imaginations opening, inviting us on board' when infact they're letting us into their imagination, opening the door to let us have that sneaky peak.
The second to last track on 'Surfing The Void' is 'Future Memories'. The title itself is quite confusing as you can't have memories of the future, but Klaxons are confusing, that's what makes their music so amazing and criptic. The chorus states that 'The futures in our memories, our past is just a guess'. This just shows us that it's all gone a bit backwards, on purpose of course. I mean isn't the past in our memories and our future just a guess? But no, not in the world we live in now, a Klaxons dominated world where upside-down is right way up and left is now the new right and so on. I like it though, it mixes it up a bit, makes it unexpected and new. At the beginning of the song, it almost sounds like they're giving you directions 'From a starting point, at the present time, follow a straight line, eventually we know that you'll end up behind.' Different. I like this alot too. Not bad Klaxons, you've successfully fried my brain with your backwards lyrics, feels like an opposite game.
Oh my gosh 'Cypherspeed' I love you. So undescribably good that it stands out from all the rest to me and is just too amazing for words. The upbeat chorus is so exciting and excellent, it sounds like Klaxons are taking you on a journey, even though they totally do with this album. The beginning of just the bass and the tap on the hi-hat is leaving you in suspense slightly, but only for a mear second. It builds up to something so big, so utterly thrilling that literally makes you wonder why hasn't something so pumping and electrifying been created until now. The keyboard leads it all in my opinion. I absolutely love it. Love it all! 'See, speed's set to PSI, to cypherspeed' also suggests that there's a journey being taken which goes completely with the speed of the music. I enjoy when it breaks down into the two syllable per beat section. It sounds quite like how you'd imagine robots to talk, but makes you think is it building up to something giant, something great when the answer, with Klaxons, will always be YES.
It's a shame that's where the album ends. This song makes me want more, so much more.
They have literally pulled the cat out of the bag with this one...and dressed it up as an astronaut too. The artwork goes perfectly, hand in hand infact, with the many space themed tracks on this album. Klaxons are clever; too klever.
http://www.klaxons.net
http://www.myspace.com/klaxons
Cypherspeed: http://www.mediafire.com/?813rcgqazr9rkzr
Echoes:
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