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Born in a flurry of N.M.E-derived hype, Klaxons have referred to their music as "nu-rave" or an updated version of the neo-psychedelic dance rock that made Manchester famous. While the Madchester bands were swirling revisions of classic rock--basically the Stones on really good ecstasy--Klaxons' touchstones on their full-length debut, MYTHS OF THE NEAR FUTURE, are all post-punk. If these tracks are rave anthems, they are speedier, more claustrophobic ones, hardly the loose, hedonistic experiments of their forebears. Nonetheless, MYTHS OF THE NEAR FUTURE's first several cuts are a dance-punk statement of purpose. "Two Receivers" lays groovy overdriven drums under layers of piano arpeggios, while "Atlantis to Interzone" warps guitar and synth lines around a hi-hat and rides it to nightclub nirvana. "Golden Skans" finds singer-guitarist Jamie Reynolds channeling his inner Robert Smith, and on "Totem on the Timeline" the London trio shouts a melody reminiscent of LOW-era Bowie. While MYTHS OF THE NEAR FUTURE treads much of the same territory rhythmically as Britain's recent spate of dance rockers, the intense, psilocybic production values and great hooks keep this collection ahead of the pack.
