The Klaxons--Myths of the Near Future

In the house where pop music lives, locked away in the attic and forced to feast upon fish-heads broods the Klaxons. Their debut album Myths of the Near Future reveal this London group as pop music’s ugly twin – hidden away from public view – a quality that is as intriguing as it is wonderful. Though primarily rooted indie rock, the Klaxons infuse a fair amount of dance music (mostly from the UK rave movement) which gives their tunes a pop-sound (much like The Arctic Monkeys). However, their songs stay clearly on the experimental side of the genre-border with whacked-out songs such as "Atlantis to Interzone." Though built upon a dance-floor beat, the crazed vocals (think Ad Astra Per Aspera) and spastic manner of the melodies show off the Klaxons’ nonconformist side.

Resounding much like Withdrawal and The Rapture, the Klaxons deliver their off-kilter lyrics at a mile-a-minute rate, barely pausing enough to let the instrumentals – and your ears – catch up ("Totem on the Timeline" is a great example, pumping out the tongue twister "Serebella sitting on the totum timeline / Unwelcome foreign hands are very hard to find / Hangmen also die, in famagusta's hive" in just a few seconds). While songs such as "Forgotten Worlds" and the chillingly melodic "It's Not Over Yet" may try to convince you that the Klaxons are a purely dance-infused pop outfit, this only but their surface. Turn to tunes like "Magick" and the tribal "Isle of Her" to see just how scarily original the Klaxons can be. Myths of the Near Future is bound to make a big, freaky splash in the music scene as the Klaxons descend from their attic lair.

(Published at MusicEmissions.com)