Klaxons - Myths Of the Near Future
Reviewed by margaret
From the opening ominous drum beat of The Klaxon’s Myths of the Near Future, the tension never stops. And I’m not going to pretend that I have any idea what they’re talking about (the lyrics are completely baffling to me), but I don’t really care. The key to enjoying is to enjoy the multi-level harmonies they put out; a falsetto register layered under a more normal, mid-level vocal. I think it’s a brilliant piece of mixing, but I can see it being a matter of taste. Some of the stand-out tracks on this record are “Isle of Her,” with its rhythmic chanting “Row! There’s only seven more miles to go…;” the frenetic “Atlantis To Interzone” that harkens back to good ol’ ska at certain points; "Forgotten Works" sounds so familiar and yet so new at the same time; and of course, the gorgeous “Golden Skans.” What I like about this band is that they don’t follow a formula, and they don’t sound like they should be popular…but they’re just too good not to be. [www.klaxons.net]