Klaxons - Surfing The Void
In 2007 they produced a hugely experimental album that, despite the odds, garnered a mass of critical acclaim and won the year's Mercury Music Prize. They also released one of the year's best pop songs (according to NME) and invented a whole new genre (again according to NME).
How on earth do they plan to follow 'Myths Of The Near Future'?
The first step is to go straight back into the studio and strike while the iron is hot. Write a host of new songs, start playing them live and throw the baying press off of the scent with a disparate array of new influences like dubstep, prog and folk. It's all going well until Polydor reportedly decides that the songs are actually too experimental and the band part ways with their previous (multi-Mercury Prize winning) producer, James Ford. It's now over three years since their debut album.
How on earth do they plan to follow Myths Of The Near Future?
Thankfully Klaxons have never concerned themselves with what happens 'on earth' and their cosmic aspirations are all present and correct on 'Surfing The Void'. Outwardly you have a very similar looking album. There's the bonkers cover art designed by a sci-fi cult (this time with Photoshop skills) and a list of track names that wouldn't be out of place in the cryptic clues section of your Dad's broad-sheet. Press play and a number of the similarities remain. The three Klaxons are still harmonising on those worryingly high vocals, the eerie synths still swim away under the melody heralding that apocalypse they've been warning us of. The punchy bass and drum combination pound onwards as frenetic as ever but now they're swamped in noise. Huge squalls of reverb and wailing guitars surround each beat and make 'Surfing The Void' a much denser album than their debut.
'Myths Of The Near Future' was a collection of blissful pop moments peppered with juddering punk energy. A journey into the empty depths of space, occasionally shaken from deep sleep by the turbulence of passing asteroids. 'Surfing The Void' is Klaxons' continued exploration. Plotting a deliberate course into Saturn's rings they throw up a barrage of sonic debris and plough through thick clouds of dust. It rarely lets up which makes the fleeting moments of clarity all the more enchanting. As the album progresses, the notion that Klaxons are constantly fighting the huge gravitational pull of expectation begins to wane.
As with it's predecessor, 'Surfing The Void' needs a good few listens to settle itself but Klaxons have succeeded in developing their sound into something new and exciting. It doesn't sound like 2007 and it doesn't sound like 'Nu Rave'. It sounds like a band facing an almighty challenge head on and producing a great rock record in spite of it.
Buy it now on CD
But it now on vinyl
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
27/07/2010
The Recommender Launch Party at Audio
The Recommender, one of the UKs best new music blogs is throwing its launch party in Audio on Saturday 31st July. It's pretty much two parties put together with The Recommender Live starting at 7pm and running until 11 with three hot acts:
The Phenomenal Handclap Band - There's honestly no superlatives or twisted adjectives that could describe just how good this eight piece New York band are. They have absolutely every ingredient to make any party go off. Impossibly entertaining disco, funk, pop and groove are all thumped out by the sexiest band alive today. Prepare to be hypnotized!
David E Sugar - This will be a live set with a band behind this pioneering DJ. Famous for doing extraordinary things with a Speak & Spell, you may well have come across this underground sensation on Kitsune compilations. Most recently he's signed to Rob Da Bank's Sunday Best label, which will surely push this artist well and truly overground.
Young Empires - This Canadian three piece are coming to Brighton for the first time ever. They arrive with a tidal wave of hype and hungry A&R men, alongside their original, percussive, indie pop magic. The new Friendly Fires anyone?
On top of that there'll be the usual Recommender shenanigans in the form of The Photobooth and a free mixtape for the first 50 people all for only £8 plus booking fee which will also get you in to The Recommender Late with:
Rory Phillips - He's the protegé to none other than the DJ overlord, Erol Alkan, having had a residency at London's Trash night and its modern version, Durr. With a truckload of seemingly perfect remixes under his belt, expect a set of the unexpected - of course played using his signature phone set instead of a pair of headphones.
The Recommender DJs - A unique partnership formed from two of Brighton's best DJ teams (Battery Powered and Blah Blah Blah DJs). These guys play everything from upfront new music taken from The Recommender to dance floor smashing house, disco and techno. Expect to move.
Buy tickets now...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
05/07/10
Mystery Jets - Serotonin
The four lads (and their Dad) from Eel Pie Island are barely recognisable on Serotonin. Proving that 2008's Twenty One wasn't Mystery Jets finding their new sound but merely taking a step on their musical journey. Having already produced with James Ford and Erol Alkan, this time they've opted for Chris Thomas (The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Pulp, Sex Pistols) to man the controls.
Their continued progression is dramatic, quite literally, as opening track 'Alice Springs' displays the kind of emotional depth and texture we're more likely to expect from Arcade Fire. Huge crescendos, ooh-aah chants and glissando strings bolster Blaine's lyrics. 'I'd stand in the line of fire for you / I'd bend over backwards for you' isn't the frail tender moment it would have been in 'Flakes' on Twenty One. It's a statement of absolute intent.
Serotonin is the mark of Mystery Jets seizing a new found confidence, no longer offering their heart in shaky hands like a delicate flower. Now they're lamenting about how battered and bruised they've become with the casual melancholy lent from lessons learnt. It's still got the slightly nostalgic eighties feel and the chiming synths make a welcome return in 'It's Too Late' but they blend into the continual soundscape. There's barely a moment on the album that isn't drenched in reverb, a dense back drop to the lush melodies.
'Flash A Hungry Smile' is reminiscent of Super Furry Animals at their most accessible but largely Mystery Jets have left their indie comparisons behind. Serotonin is a hugely ambitious step for a band who continue to explore new ground with an adorable naivety that belies their intelligence and ever increasing confidence. This is an album that shows a band in their ascendancy to something truly amazing.
Buy it.
Mystery Jets - Dreaming Of Another World
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
28/06/10
Sleigh Bells - Treats (Album Review)
Sleigh Bells - Tell em
Sleigh Bells is comprised of Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss, one of the most unlikely pairings in music. He was formerly a guitarist for post-hardcore band Poison The Well and she sang in Rubyblue, a girl band for which details are scarce. The coming together of this duo was equally unlikely as he waited her (and her Mum) in a restaurant and happened to mention he was looking for a female vocalist. The rest is (very recent) history as they formed in 2008 and less than two years later have produced their debut album 'Treats'.
The album itself is an aural assault, opening with machine-gun drum-machines and a barrage of distorted guitars reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix's 'Star Spangled Banner' interpretation. Alexis' sickly sweet vocals are just enough to take the edge off Derek's squealing strings. These two opposing forces alternate between vying for supremacy and intertwining in bizarre harmonic unity, creating an awesome racket.
Between sonic blasts, her voice and the occasionally hip-hop beat create a soothing groove over the dying reverb. It doesn't last for long though, as a crashing wave of distorted destruction is never far away. Nowhere is this more apparent than on 'Infinity Guitars', there's a real 'F**k me!' moment when the duo take an already noisy track and kick it straight from 10 to 12, bypassing 11 altogether. 'Run The Heart' follows with an extended loop of Alexis' breathy call. Laid back drums and twinkling synths act as temporary respite before the enslaught continues.
It's a noisy album throughout, deliberately distorted and underproduced, volume levels swinging wildly even within tracks. It has a real homemade feel, as if produced in a garage by enthusiastic, angst ridden-kids. As it happens a lot of the production credits are taken up by Miller, including the artwork and sleeve which look like they've been made from year book cuttings.
Despite the rebellious, youthful nature of Treats, Sleigh Bells manage to temper their terrific slabs of sound with genuinely pretty melodies. 'Rill Rill' sits pleasantly out of place amongst the noise. Produced so that it doesn't touch the red on your speaker's EQ, gentle acoustic guitar and layered vocals make for a lazy summer jam.
Treats is the album kids will thrash out at full volume to annoy their parents. It's fuzzed up, dumbed down and just right for throwing yourself around.
Buy it.
