Klaxons - ‘Myths Of The Near Future’ (Rinse) Released 29/01/07

Klaxons have a lot to answer for. Just over a year ago music scenes were peaceful, easy to understand and relatively straightforward to define. Then something changed. What exactly? Well – everything. We could blame the raw trio’s young naivety, but then, we could just as cynically applaud their ‘slip of the tongue’ as one of the greatest marketing tricks of recent times. Whatever side of the fence you stand, when the band uttered the words, ‘New Rave,’ something wobbled beneath our feet so violently you’d have thought Britain had just swum the English Channel and adjoined itself to France.

In reality, the tremble was actually caused by herds of teenagers scrambling for fluorescent jackets from their local JJB and glow sticks from over-the-hill nineties rave catalogues, as ‘New Rave’ spread throughout the nation like a bush fire. Not since acid house spread from the depths of dark London warehouses across the nation in the early nineties, had a movement travelled with such brutality. It can’t just be because of a fad expression though, can it? In a word – no. Crucially the band - which consists of - Jamie Reynolds (bass, vocals), James Righton (Keyboard, Vocals) and Simon Taylor (Guitar, Vocals), had a library of high on ecstasy jaw droppers that supported, and maybe even encouraged the hype surrounding them. The long awaited release of ‘Myths Of The Near Future’ therefore comes as a nice, and welcome reminder that Klaxons aren’t just the hooker in a media scrum.

From the outset MOTNF has been structured stringently, and at times, produced with just the same precision. The albums opener, ‘Two Receivers,’ is the dynamic building block upon which the album is constructed. Its ‘Phat Planet-esque’ prelude helps the song gallop with the same intensity as the horses in the Guinness advert which famously featured the Leftfield tune. Then there’s the subtle complexity of, ‘Totem On The Timeline,’ which is far more rock than rave, and a song which holds such verve you’ll want to re-visit its track door frequently.