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October 23, 2006

Klaxons Video - "Magick"

The face of NME's recent "new rave" obsession, Klaxons are a pill-popping trio trading in dark, freak dance rock who enjoy spray painting themselves fluoroscently and saying things like "MDMA-zing!" and "E-Tard." It's all meant to be an ironic take on '90s rave, but the difference between Ecstasy ingestion and post-modern Ecstasy ingestion is about three syllables. Here's the clip for their first major label single:

And a marginally better song from the band's Xan Valleys EP.

Klaxons - "Gravity's Rainbow" (MP3)

Other "new rave" bands include Shitdisco and Norway's Datarock (whom we saw in Oslo and thought were fucking atrocious). The sound is sweeping the UK okay, but ya think it's got American legs? Surprisingly, that indie band life-o-meter doesn't have the plus/minus on "penchant for Day-Glo," so we're at a loss.

Posted at 11:08 AM in ,
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18 Comments

great band name, unfortunate output. but ... it could be MUCH less listenable.

Posted by: chris at 10/23/06 11:32 AM  | Reply
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I was so creeped out by the video I hardly paid attention to the song, although I did note that it wasn't exactly atrocious. Still, I'm not expecting to see that video on MTV anytime soon.

Posted by: Jamie at 10/23/06 11:43 AM  | Reply
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who even cares about mtv. this is new rock...not new rave. grunge kids with glo sticks. and why the hell not! i'm apalled at the apathy around this band. get off your keister - get out of your brain - go ape shit.

Posted by: lizzy at 10/23/06 11:53 AM  | Reply
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the video is so weirdly disturbing, it ends up being more memorable than the song... but these guys are still pretty rad.

Posted by: nick at 10/23/06 12:20 PM  | Reply
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the klaxons are simply amazing live and have the most insane audience, it's the most brilliantly tight punk gig you can imagine. they are a great rock/pop band that have some truly great songs. the klaxons are the arctic monkeys for the new hip generation.
new rave? it means nothing. there's no rave going on here.

Posted by: ag at 10/23/06 12:27 PM  | Reply
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If there's no "penchant for Day-Glo" there certainly is one for bad art, drab colors, boring outfits, frizzy hair, and glasses all the time.

Thanks for posting this, how refreshing to see something different... I know it's probably confusing for you.

Posted by: Patrik at 10/23/06 12:45 PM  | Reply
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The "new rave" moniker is pretty much a stupid NME fabrication. I like the Klaxons but this video is dumb.

Posted by: pageblank at 10/23/06 1:51 PM  | Reply
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the "new rave" moniker is dumb, yeah, but right now in the UK there is a seriously huge underground culture of teenage kids getting all dressed up in neon, getting all monged up on MDMA, and going out to illegal raves and partying like you wish you had in 1992. Glow-stix n'all.

Seriously, it's massive -not just an nme made-up scene, but a big thing going on right now, that you're not privy to, grandad!

Posted by: The Goblin King at 10/23/06 2:23 PM  | Reply
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Top one, nice one, get sorted.

I fail to see how this stuff would sound good on E. It reminds me much more of the super-fast breakbeat stuff from the period between rave and the late '90s trance era. And that period/music is normally associate with dodgy, speedy pills.

Posted by: Mark Swiderski at 10/23/06 2:46 PM  | Reply
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Pretty underwhelming.

I fail to see any rave connotations outside of some bad fashion/design decisions, which are probably laced with that hipster "irony" thing we all keep hearing about, which is not irony at all.

Furthermore, I can't imagine myself dancing to this, without or without a copious amount of substances racing through me.

Rave music is dance music, people (at NME). I don't even hear a drum machine or an arpeggiator anywhere. Not that those things are necessary, but at least give me a beat, idiots.

Jack the Tab anyone? Blue Room? Adventures in the Ultraworld? 13 Above the Night? Do your research, NME. Contrast and compare. Come up with nothing.
Instead, try comparing this shit(e) to the Madchester bands (which were also mostly shit(e)), but not rave.

Apples and oranges.

Posted by: Wesley at 10/23/06 3:12 PM  | Reply
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this band is just all around bad. I promise the world, the klaxons will be gone by this time next year. more British hype shit

Posted by: all at 10/23/06 3:32 PM  | Reply
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Everyone knows NME knows nothing. They've become a frivolous gossip rag with no substance. I don't understand why it's still even paid attention to.

And anyway, fuck irony, I like this. Klaxons are cool. And thank you for, for ONCE, posting something besides dreamy mopey indie shit. It gets boring reeeeal quick.

Posted by: ajaku at 10/23/06 5:58 PM  | Reply
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um. . . oh my god? That was distrubing/distressing.
I love their Gravity's Rainbow video SO MUCH more, but I like what they're attempting to do

Posted by: Nilina at 10/23/06 6:30 PM  | Reply
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'NME fabrication' sounds about right. same goes for pull tiger tail, shitdisco, etc, etc. same magazine that brought us the 'war on emo' (still RAGING by the way). the NME is the reason why British kids are turning to blogs from across the atlantic. not that it's a bad thing.

Posted by: robbie at 10/23/06 7:00 PM  | Reply
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I returned to England after a year of living in Canada recently, and one of my first nights out I ended up in a club with lots of dandies and skinnny jeans types, only the indie songs were outnumbered by the dance tracks and everyone had glowsticks.

I thought I had stumbled into some strange new scene I couldn't understand.

Turns out it was some special NME organised event, and when they left town normal service was resumed. Seems like they're really trying to make this thing happen.

Posted by: Joe at 10/24/06 11:35 AM  | Reply
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klaxons are an amazing band doin something very different, not just with their music, but their videos and live shows. iv seen them live and it was a treat to my eyes and ears.

i dont think theyr appeal to america is important at all, or even on their minds. theyr a british band, which was formed out of a british movement - raves. which is in my opinion is all they want.

and as for them fronting "nmes recent new rave obsession", im sure tht the band had little of nothing to do with that. nme will pick who they want. n to be honest if someone threw the front cover at you, wouldnt you take it!

nme ddnt make up new rave, its been around for a while, they just happened to pick up on it (and unfortunately use the term loosly to describe all bands with a synth and some repetative drums), realise the potential to sell issues, inform us of a new scene, a new sound, that they think will be big, which is their job.

theyre simply a great band, doing something different. challenging music, the industry and the minds of their listeners.

Posted by: adam at 10/26/06 5:09 AM  | Reply
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new-rave scares me, mainly cos it's frankly horrible and also, there's nothing wrong with old rave and it's still going strong

i would rather go out to a forest in the dead of night with my mates and dance to actual electronic dance music in the mud with hundreds of people in front a massive fat 50k sound system than er, strut about in a indie club to this and like to think I am a raver

it's ok I spose, I don;t mind it, but it doesn;t really fit the term 'rave' at all

Posted by: Joseph Devine at 10/26/06 10:14 AM  | Reply
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I watched the NME music awards on the TV last night and i must say it was awful.
The Klaxons are a brilliant band, and people should be loving the fact that they are making you want to take E.
Joke.

Music is in disrepute, The way twats like Noel from oasis strut there stuff when theyve been playing the same five chord drivel for the past god knows how long, says to me "You gotta have new groups."

We'll never have the Punk rock uprsing of the 70's.
Music will never be as specail as it used to be because of corperate arseholes who want to line thier pockets.
BUT
Instead of complaining about this and that.
Try listening to new music.
Try going to watch as many local bands as possible.

Its the fact that this doesn't happen enough that music is in its shambolic state.

Maybe you who works some shite job could be managing a band you met at a local venue.
Who end up playing she stadium or some shite.

Ah heck i'm nuts.

The Klaxons are great

Posted by: Pinkney at 03/02/07 5:35 AM  | Reply
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