Review // Klaxons – Surfing The Void

It’s taken a long time coming, but the extra-terrestrial kings of Nu Rave are back. They’re angrier. They’re heavier. They’re so damn spacey you’d think they’d been found in 1947 Roswell. But are they better?

Well, no, sadly. As lacklustre opener ‘Echoes’ limps to a close the question “is this it?” will begin gnawing. For all it’s energy and shallow mysticism, Surfing the Void is going nowhere.

This is half because it’s actually as zany and progressive as the Roswell wikipedia article. The more crucial half is that it’s so devoid of the fun that defined Klaxons. Less like a fun UFO ride, more like a big, dull black hole. ‘Valley of the Calm Trees’ will remind you of their knack for a melody, and perhaps lull you into a satisfied trance, only for the tired vocals of ‘Venusia’ to snap you out of it.

‘Flashover’ would be the record’s saving grace if there was just one more track half as good. With a brutally muscular intro and ridiculously catchy midsection it sounds something like what would happen if post-Humbug Arctic Monkeys did a drunk karaoke take on The Horror’s; From a space station. But it’s not enough.

Perhaps it’s unfair to judge a record by the standards of it’s predecessor when said predecessor defined a genre. It’s average, rather than awful, but it’s hard to feel anything but disappointed when just one track of Myths of the Near Future ticks more boxes than this whole album. It could have been the comeback of the year. In reality, you’ll probably want to forget it.

Surfing the void is out 23/08/10 on Polydor records. Check more info the band here. Or check out the lead single ‘Echoes’, released today, below.