Surfing The Void

Klaxons
Surfing The Void
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

In 2007, Klaxons surprisingly won the prestigious Mercury Prize for their debut cd Myths of the Near Future, a mix of what was then dubbed "nu-rave," for its mixture of rave-like keyboards and melodic guitar textures. Of course, with "nu-rave" being a minor trend, championed by the likes of NME, it quickly faded from view and Klaxons reentered the studio to work on a follow up, one that would hopefully expand their sound while still recapturing the success they had already experienced. Apparently, the work they did with legendary producer Tony Visconti and Bernard "Focus" Edwards, Jr. was "too experimental" according to their label and the sessions were scrapped. Klaxons headed back into the studio with metal (??) producer Ross Robinson, and have now released Surfing The Void.

Considering the sound of Surfing The Void, I am a bit bewildered as to what the record label would consider to be "too experimental." Surfing The Void is a bit of a mess, but there is still enough here to recommend it, and just chalk it up to the dreaded sophomore slump. Upon each listen, it gets better and better, but it is still a jarring change from the first release.

Things get off to a good start with current single "Echoes"



It harkens back to the true sound of Klaxons: quirky, melodic pop.

When Klaxons stick to this formula, they hit it on an cylinders, and could have made a classic pop album. I can easily see three or four hit singles from this batch including "The Same Space," "Valley of the Calm Trees," "Twin Flames," and "Future Memories."









If these singles are released, I can see the cd having pretty good success, however, for most listeners they will be puzzled by the rest of the album which focuses more on hard-edged, spaced and fuzzed out power punk, which gives whiplash after awhile. A few songs like this sprinkled in the mix, would have added more texture and drama to the album, providing needed contrast. But to have every other song feature the same screaming guitars makes it seem like Surfing The Void is two separate pieces cobbled together inexpertly.

It is not to say that some of these excursions are not good. I particularly enjoy the first single "Flashover" with its air raid siren guitars and breathless pace:



This is also echoed in the final track "Cypherspeed," which sounds almost like an homage to true rave pop from EMF, Jesus Jones, etc.



But too often, the noise overtakes the songs and you are left with a muddle of drugged out sounding metal sludge, especially the title track which is almost unlistenable.



Or the skreechy, industrial "Extra Astronomical"



I can't pan Surfing The Void though because these missteps are fairly few on the album and they don't keep me from coming back to the cd. As I said, it has really grown on me over time and makes me definitely interested in hearing more from them in the future. I just hope next time, the label doesn't get as involved as it did this go around. It would be interesting to see if they release any of the unreleased material as b-sides. I would love to know what is really considered "too experimental."

Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top albums of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not good; could have either been trimmed or polished.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.