Pretentious Prattle: January 2007

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future

Much to the glee of "nu-ravers", NME darlings Klaxons are set to release their debut LP, Myths of the Near Future, in a few days time. This is the follow-up to their Xan Valleys EP, released in October 2006. Back in '06 my curiousity, no, impatience, got the better of me and I hunted for anything and everything Klaxons - demos, unreleased tracks, rough mixes, etc. So if you're like me, you'll already know 60% of this album before listening to it, causing this LP might seem like an elongated EP. For those not yet acquainted with these Londoners, I thoroughly recommend it.

It starts off with the distorted drumbeat of 'Two Receivers', not as fierce a song as I'd expect for the opener, but decent nonetheless. 'Atlantis to Interzone', a favourite from the EP, comes next, upping the tempo. 'Golden Skans' is one of the highlights, paying homage to light machines of the rave days. 'Totem on the Timeline', one of my favourite demos (it was then simply known as 'Totem') sifts through a pile of historical references including Caesar and Lady Diana, amongst others, to an angular and garagey background. 'As Above, So Below' is a fresh nugget of scattered poppy electronics, sunny even, as it's the brightest of the album. 'Magick' and 'Gravity's Rainbow', both solidified favourites amongst Klaxons fans, soon appear, followed by 'It's Not Over Yet', a nice ballad slathered with cascading synths. Closing out the album is another Klaxons favourite, the mythically-inspired 'Four Horsemen of 2012'.

Muddled throughout the LP are references to mythical entities and magical ideas, a Klaxons trademark, and something missing from the UK indie scene, which is seemingly obsessed with existential notions and daily routines. The title of this album itself, derives from J.G. Ballard's sci-fi novel. If nothing else, they're well-read and educated. 'Magick' is a term associated with occultist Aleister Crowley's magical philosophy, 'Atlantis to Interzone' references Burrough's, "interzone", or non-space, and the lost aquatic city of Atlantis, and 'Gravity's Rainbow' is named after Thomas Pynchon's post-modern novel. They also pay due homage to their influences. Kicks Like a Mule's 'The Bouncer' was covered on Xan Valleys, and now rave duo Grace, (Oakenfold, Osbourne) are covered on Myths of the Near Future in the form of 'Not Over Yet'. It's a solid debut with a lot of depth.

Here are some new mp3s featured on Myths of the Near Future:

MP3: Klaxons - As Above, So Below
MP3: Klaxons - Golden Skans
MP3: Klaxons - It's Not Over Yet
MP3: Klaxons - Totem on the Timeline

Monday, January 22, 2007

Coachella 2007

The lineup for this year's Coachella Music and Arts Festival was announced a few hours ago, flaring up my jealousy towards those that live in the area/can afford the trek. The late April music bonanza has become one of the best outdoor shows in the world, in just 9 years mind you, and has been expanded into a 3-day event this year, as opposed to the traditional weekend event.

The biggest news is that Rage Against the Machine has re-united to headline the event's final day, surely pleasing fans and Audioslave cynics/haters alike. Those guys could make rebels out of even the most peaceful of us - "Why stand on a silent platform? Fight the war! F*ck the norm!" Phew!

Full Lineup (from wikipedia)

!!!, Air, Erol Alkan, Lily Allen, Anathallo, The Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, The Avett Brothers, Benny Benassi, Andrew Bird, Bjork, The Black Keys, Blonde Redhead, Bojones, Brazilian Girls, Brother Ali, Busdriver, Manu Chao, Circa Survive, Jarvis Cocker, Coco Rosie, Comedians Of Comedy, Cornelius, The Coup, The Cribs, Crowded House, CSS, The Decemberists, Digitalism, DJ Heather, DJ Shadow, Roky Erickson And The Explosives, Evil Nine, Explosions In The Sky, Fair To Midland, Faithless, The Feeling, Felix Da Housecat, Lupe Fiasco, The Fields, Fountains Of Wayne, The Frames, The Fratellis, Ghostface Killah, Girl Talk, Gogol Bordello, Jose Gonzales, The Good, The Bad And The Queen, Gotan Project, Grizzly Bear, Happy Mondays, Richie Hawtin, Hot Chip, Infected Mushroom, Interpol, The Kooks, Jack's Mannequin, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Junior Boys, Justice, Kaiser Chiefs, Kings Of Leon, Klaxons, Kokono No. 1, LCD Soundsystem, Amos Lee, Stephen Marley feat Jr. Gong, Mika, MSTRKRFT, Willie Nelson, New Pornographers, Nickel Creek, Nightwatchman, The Noisettes, Of Montreal, Ozomatli, Peaches, Peeping Tom, Peter, Bjorn & John, Pharaohe Monche, Placebo, Pop Levi, Rage Against The Machine, The Rapture, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mike Relm, Damien Rice, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, The Roots, Satellite Party, Silversun Pickups, Sonic Youth, Soulwax, Spank Rock, Sparklehorse, Regina Spektor, Tapes 'n Tapes, Tiesto, Tilly And The Wall, Tokyo Police Club, Travis, Paul Van Dyk, Julieta Venegas, VNV Nation, Rufus Wainwright, We Are Scientists, Gillian Welch, Amy Winehouse, Yeva.

Edit - The Jesus and Mary Chain are in too. WHOA!

I'm feeling generous, here's a few Rage tracks...

MP3: Rage Against the Machine - Bombtrack
MP3: Rage Against the Machine - Killing in the Name
MP3: Rage Against the Machine - Wake Up

Friday, January 19, 2007

Local Artist - Crystal Castles

Apologies for the hiatus, but hey, every tv series I'm hooked on went on break as well.

Quickly Googleing this duo's moniker leads to a plethora of pages devoted to an 8-bit video game that shared their name. Given Crystal Castles' (yes, that's the name, not She-Ra...) rudimentary approach to electro, it seems a good match. But not so! The name derives from their love of short-lived cartoons, more than anything else. History recap: She-Ra was a cartoon character that took refuge in the majestic Crystal Castle, the peak of Etheria, and was essentially the female version of the almighty He-Man, "the most powerful man in the universe" (Mattel's words, not mine).

Now that that's cleared up, CC are a Toronto duo most notable for their remix of the Klaxons' 'Atlantis to Interzone'. Feeding their synth into an 8-bit Atari chip, results in the spastic blips that occupy their EP, Alice Practice. For those that only know them for the Klaxons link, the EP is a lot more abrasive and thrashy than that mix would lead you to believe. They're doing a few shows this weekend in Toronto before departing for the UK to support the Klaxons tour. From what I've been told, they're good live, though I've not yet had the pleasure of attending a show. Hopefully we'll get an LP soon, until then... enjoy these mp3s.

MP3: Crystal Castles - Airwar
MP3: Crystal Castles - Alice Practice
MP3: GoodBooks - Leni (Crystal Castles vs. GoodBooks)

Monday, January 01, 2007

2006 - 50 Best Albums

2006 is now officially over, so what do I have to say for it? For starters, my tastes have further broadened, changed, and grown. Genre-wise, I've ventured into electronic music more-so than ever; from ambient to experimental, and everything in between. Geographically speaking, Sweden continue to churn out the best indie(-pop) around, Austin, Texas are time and again justifying themselves as one of the premier indie hotspots on the globe, and Canada had another solid year. I was pleased with this year's output and I'm not-so-patiently awaiting what comes in 2007. It looks like it'll be a solid year in music, at least from what's been announced thus far. A new Art Brut album, the Klaxons' debut, LCD Soundsystem's true sophomore album, along with a plenitude of others.

Anyways, after many hours of thorough listening (and re-listening), Photoshopping, and uploading, these are all, in my opinion, the top 50 albums of the year past. Two mp3s are included from each album, and if you like them, be sure to click on the album cover above to buy it. Thanks again to Eric Spano for the banner. Enjoy and have a happy new year.