Klaxons

The fact that UK-export Klaxons have been dubbed “new rave” scene-makers might stand to befuddle anyone expecting that to be something other than a rock band—but such was the weather in 2007, when the band debuted with Myths Of The Near Future. Some of the group’s sirens and sensuality carried over from rave’s heyday, but the truth is Myths Of The Near Future worked better as an inviting collection of rollicking songs than as a dance-rock totem. Klaxons’ latest, Surfing The Void, was initially rejected by Polydor for being too experimental; in a telling move, the band called in nü-metal godfather Ross Robinson to produce. It’s a bewildering mess at times, with gothic thickness weighing down the hands-in-the-air choruses—but it’s an exhilarating mess all the same.

Updated 03/14/2011