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First Truly Great Album of 2007, then
Let us proclaim it from the rooftops. The debut album by the Klaxons, Myths Of The Near Future, is tremendous. Never mind all the hype from last year about them spearheading "New Rave" (a term the cheeky Southeast London trio seem to have introduced into the vernacular themselves, only to see the NME pick it up and run away with it), this album puts any associations with glow sticks and second-hand Aciiiiiiiieeeeed to one side. It's a wondrous, varied beast, full of hooks and high voices; yes, it has a certain thumping beat that's refreshing in a world made sludge by The Killers, Razorlight and the Kooks, but it's also a thing of tunes and good singing. The drumming is nifty throughout, and if I say bits of it remind me of Pop Will Eat Itself, I hope you'll know me well enough to recognise the compliment. Golden Skans, the current hit single, is every inch the swooning, heady, harmonic pop song, while the hypnotic Isle Of Her ("Row! There's only seven more miles to go!") is laced with both sexual metaphor and Classical Studies. There are sirens and block-rocking beats too, and the energy throughout is electric. I can't stop playing it.
posted by Andrew Collins @ 11:48 AM
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I've been toying with the idea of buying this album for a week or so. That was until I found some extremely mixed reviews on Amazon. Like Public Enemy, I don't normally 'believe the hype'. I think Golden Skans is joyous and I heard another track on the radio the other day which had the same fantastic harmonies. You've tipped me over the edge to have a 'punt' on this one.
I'm afraid I disliked it.
There are far too may influences on dispalay and you spend the whole album's length thinking "ooh, that sounds like..".
Track 2 "Atlantis To Interzone" sounds almost exactly like the sort of thing EMF were doing all those years ago.
Best things of 2007 so far for me have been Kristin Hersh's "Learn To Sing Like A Star" and 4 Hero's "Play With Changes"
I have to say I enjoy the album a lot. I doubt it's an album of the year contender especially considering how strong the year has been so far with the likes of Gruff, Klaxons, Field Music, Bloc Party (Arcade Fire, Lcd Soundsystem and Dinosaur Jr. are rather good, apparently.)
I haven’t heard the album but the Klaxons acquitted themselves well on Tom Robinson’s show recently.
I don’t think it’s fair to lump The Killers and Kooks with Razorlight though. Razorlight were on French pop show Taratata recently. The presenter usually has to go bilingual to interview UK acts but Johnny Borrell was happy to converse in French. Normally I’d be full of admiration for this, but in this case it only made me want to twat him more. I don’t like Kooks or The Killers either but - you know - there are gradations.
"First truly great album of 2007"? I think you might have gone rather early on that shout Andrew because - look! - here come The Hold Steady. I think they would like a word...
I am very impressed! I can't stop playing it either, it truly is a fantastic album. Highlights have to be Golden Skans, Isle Of Her and Gravity's Rainbow.
Also, I discovered recetly, Atlantis to Interzone is a great track for running to!
I was a bit dissapointed to see the album only get 1 out of 5 in The Guardian but it seems to have been well recieved elsewhere. Aidan
Saw the Klaxons on last nights Culture Show and thought ho-hum, didn't do much for me I'm afraid.
As for album of the year so far, what about the Shins. It has a wonderful Smiths feel about it and there is no higher praise than that.
Ian
The Shins album sounds pretty good, too. The Hold Steady I'm on the fence about - one minute I'm reminded of Husker Du, then I'm reminded of identikit American rock. And I can put the Killers and the Kooks in the same category as Razorlight, even if neither is as annoying at Johnny Borrell. They all still make hugely popular music which I don't believe merits the praise that's heaped upon it.
hmmm. I would never class myself as a populist, but I'm a little confused as to why Razorlight, Kooks and The Killers get such stick from muso / journos. Johnny Borrell doing an interview in French? Fantastic! Wouldn't it be great if all our 'pop' stars could do that? I've seen all three of these bands live, and they can all cut it. They are all good at what they do, so why shouldn't they be arrogant? Isn't that what we want from them? Is it because thier stuff sells, or because it gets played on Radio 2? If The Klaxons sell a lot of records (which seems likely), or start geting played on Radio 2, will they join the list? I thought The Klaxons were arrogant on The Culture Show. I also thought they sounded dreadful live, and in the cold light of day, (again, in my opinion!)they have no more promise than the first Razorlight LP. Of course this opens up a whole new discussion point of live v. recorded - and many artists have made great albums and sucked live, but The Klaxons seemed like haircuts with toys. We can all see that Donny Tourette is more Gizzard Puke than Johnny Rotten, but Johnny Borrell is a lot more self aware (anyone seen him on the Mighty Boosh?) than he gets credit for. Are The Klaxons not ripe for the same treatment?
Golden Skans is lovely, but having seen the chaps on The Culture Show I shan't be buying their record as they were incredibly annoying. I can only handle a braggart if he has the swagger to pull it off.
And that haircut. Yowzers.
By the by, Andrew, while we're talking indie, I just read a bulletin on myspace by Mark Keds (who you've probably interviewed once or twice) and the poor little fellow is in rehab, so say a little prayer for the composer of the sublime 'Easy To Smile'.
Andrew: Of course you can lump whoever you want together, I just didn't want to miss a good opportunity to affirm my dislike for Johnny Borrell. It's childish but therapeutic.
Wendell: Johnny Borrell is the Sting of his generation right down to the shirt coming off at every highly competent gig. I suspect he has a .ppt somewhere with clearly defined, achievable milestones mapped out. He could probably tell you how much he's going to spend on shirts in the next three years. It's nothing to do with selling records: I love The Beatles and I don't consider "pop music" to be a pejorative term. It's not even the arrogance: I can watch Don't Look Back without a dent in my admiration for Dylan and I lap up Mark E Smith interviews. It's the blandness pure and simple. All of these bands are fine, but their ambitions only stretch to their careers, not their music.
Incidentally Mika (the Kids From Fame of his generation) was better at French (perhaps not surprisingly) and had the good grace to acknowledge the debt that Grace Kelly owes to Figaro. He's got nothing to say either, but at least he doesn't use his interviews to tell us he has.
I do kind of agree, Dave - but I also think it has more to do with the way that EVERYTHING has to have been through some "blue sky thinking" before we get it - even The Arctic Monkeys, and most definately The Klaxons, sorry Andrew!!
It just frustrates me that if, for example, Jarvis Cocker or Mark Smith appears on a comedy show, it's a fantastic post ironic, self aware statement and we should all worship at thier feet. Johnny Borrell does it and he's obviously a tosser. I can't believe I'm actually writing this - I'm really not such a huge fan or anything - I'd rather listen to the anonymous Secret Machines than Jarvis, The Fall OR Razorlight.
And, do you really have to have something to say to make great pop music? Mika's single is a glorious slice of summer pop - reminds me of one of my faves Jellyfish - and I don't care if The Feeling can quote Chekhov or not, the harmonies alone make me smile.
So, now The Police are touring again, does that mean that Johnny can go and sit down? ;-)
Wendell, I think my point about Mika was actually the same as yours. You don't have to have something to say, and if the music is good enough then you can sing anything on top of it and it doesn't matter. (Although Mika's song is quite barbed.) I said it wasn't the arrogance and it was the blandness. Actually it's the combination of the two that irks me.
Jarvis is a very witty man. Mark E Smith is a liability on TV but he's undeniably funny. You can see where I'm going with this one.
Incidentally, whatever I might think about Sting, there were three people in The Police and they made some good, distinctive pop records together.
I think the thing with Razorlight is that the rest of the band apart from Johnny Borrell come over as perfectly competent, and probably 'nice' people, but like they ought to be in a different band. So JB ends up seeming like he's standing out/being a bit of a sore thumb for things that, if he were surrounded by a more genuinely gang-like rock n roll pack would seem like they fitted in perfectly. If there was a Carl in the band, or even a John Hassall, the personalities would trade off each other and add to the whole - sorry I'm sounding like this is getting to be bullshit now but you see the point I'm making. They remain a BAND and a perfectly effective one but things that make JB seem irritating would be, like, nothing if his band matched up to him. The only thing he's guilty of is slagging off a rival, making a few big claims (early on), grabbing the crazy opportunity to meet Nelson Mandela when asked and do a couple of right-on protest gigs, and, er, wearing white trews. None of this would irritate if his band were a bit more over the top like him - you know, if he were in the Chilli Peppers, the Stooges (his white trousers are a variation on Iggy's silver ones), the Libs etc. It's the mild background that makes him stand out at the moment.
Yeah - viva la Borrell!
Well it's different to hear the other perspective isn't it?! And methinks it's close to the truth. Debtate please!
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