Let me just clear a few things up for you before we start. No, Surfing The Void isn’t the album that was supposedly rejected by Klaxons’ UK record label, nor is it a defiant stand against this rejection. Because the truth is no such album ever existed, at least not in the way you’re thinking. No, Klaxons haven’t completely lost the plot in the build-up to this album and yes, that could be the best album artwork we see in 2010.
Up to speed? Good. Because what we’ve got here is the follow-up release to Klaxons’ genre-defining debut album Myths Of The Near Future, which is probably a rather sticky situation to be in. I mean where do you go after such an album? The answer is not very far. Surfing The Void by and large treads very similar waters to its predecessor; big bass, crunching guitars, frantic pace, swirly synths, berating beats, etc, etc.
Where the two releases differ however is what will inevitably make Surfing The Void the less-loved sibling. As well as being a far more timely release, Myths… was just full of stand-out tracks. Tracks that demanded your attention. Tracks where all the juicy, fluorescent elements of that much-maligned sub-genre known as new rave converged and produced monolithic masterpieces. The only time this really happens on Surfing The Void is on lead single Echoes.
But while Echoes takes the leading role on this record, there is an impressive supporting cast. Venusia takes a left turn off to an oasis paradise laden with mythical imagery, Extra Astronomical gives a good yank of the heartstrings with its desperate pleas while the title track explodes in a fiery blaze of glory. But if you take away these rare highlights, all you’ve got is extras.
Jimmy Bollard

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR E-NEWSLETTER!