Klaxons, 'Surfing the Void'

The follow up to 2007’s ‘Myths of the Near Future’ was always going to be a tricky affair for Klaxons. With a ludicrous ‘nu-rave’ tag, which was more the fault of a gimmick-hungry music industry than the band themselves, it seemed a drastic change in sound and style would be necessary if they were to shake off the shackles of their ‘nu-rave’ image and be taken seriously as a band, rather than merely NME poster-boys. While ‘Myths….’ has moments of greatness, it does possess an element of style over substance; their misguided cover of Grace’s ‘It’s Not Over Yet’, among a few other album fillers, already sounding dated well beyond their three years of age.

Thankfully, with long-awaited follow-up ‘Surfing the Void’, Klaxons find themselves drifting closer toward a sound of far greater depth and longevity. Where ‘Myths….’ relied far too heavily on immediate hooks and distinctly 90s synth sounds to grab your attention, ‘Surfing the Void’ displays a significant maturity both musically and structurally. Although there may not be much in the way of obvious singles or instant hits, the way by which each track grows on you serves to draw you in gradually, in a way that ‘Myths….’ severely lacks. Lead single ‘Echoes’ exemplifies this perfectly, with a deceptively catchy chorus that gets better and better with each listen. ‘Flashover’, a track of pounding intensity and dense production, is also an indicator of just how far Klaxons have come over the past three years.

Although for the most part ‘Surfing the Void’ is a major improvement, there are still a few imperfections lingering from its predecessor. The lyrics, for example, at times are beyond stupid. Presumably supposed to sound astronomical and spacey , they end up sounding more like the kind of insincere, sci-fi bollocks one would expect from Matt Bellamy in his recent attempts to destroy music. An example of such lyrical nonsense can be found in ‘Cypherspeed’, in which we are enlightened with the following: “Ride the pandemonium, The hyper confusion, Escape to nowhere, Glimpse no illusion, In the distance, Information, Glimpse the existent.” Rubbish. However, when compared to how good ‘Surfing the Void’ is as a whole, one can surely forgive them the occasional lyrical lapse.

Overall, the Klaxons return is an extremely welcome one. Whilst there was genuine concern that the band may have faded into obscurity in the wake of the ‘nu-rave’ scene, it would now appear that they possess a purpose and substance that wasn’t quite there before. With ‘Surfing the Void’, Klaxons have not only developed a sound of greater density and maturity, but have also suggested that their best is yet to come.