Myths Of The Near Future - Klaxons
Metascore
71 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 28
  3. Negative: 1 out of 28
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  1. New Musical Express (NME)
    90
    'Myths Of The Near Future' is charged with the same spirit which fuelled legendary rave pranksters The KLF's period of pop subversion.
  2. Drowned In Sound
    90
    This isn't a rave record. It was never supposed to be. It's a wildly varying catalogue of melody and energy that eschews genre and scene in favour of songwriting and awe-inspiringly beefy production.
  3. Lost At Sea
    83
    Along with Sounds of Silver, Myths of the Near Future is thus far the best dance (rock) album of 2007 that you can rock (dance)-out to.
  4. Dot Music
    80
    For a band that formed little over a year ago, the energy and intent of this record is thrilling and the music rarely fails their undoubtedly grand ambitions.
  5. Under The Radar
    80
    The biggest surprise of Myths, and what sets it apart from Klaxons’ peers like New Young Pony Club and Crystal Castles, is the strength and depth of their pop tunes. [#17, p.92]
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  6. Playlouder
    80
    If it's house music you're after then you won't like this because this (sorry to point out the bloody obvious) is something completely different. And that, as far as we're concerned, is the whole point.
  7. Mojo
    80
    It's conceived, written and designed for the loud appreciation of sweat-drenched pill-poppers at a 'nitespot' nowhere near you. And as such, it succeeds in magnificently silly style. [Feb 2007, p.100]
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  8. Uncut
    80
    Klaxons bristle with energy and ideas. [Feb 2007, p.77]
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  9. Urb
    80
    If you're in need of hype, and think Oasis are too old and lame anyway, and the Arctic Monkeys are just kind boring, maybe you need... the Klaxons. [Apr 2007, p.106]
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  10. Observer Music Monthly
    80
    You get the sense they don't know exactly what they're aiming for, and the resulting mish-mash of crude energy and unfocused ambition leaves the listener gloriously befuddled.
  11. Pitchfork
    75
    Klaxons' lyrical pretensions, alas, can be a reminder why the best house and trance music often emphasizes atmosphere over meaning.
  12. Entertainment Weekly
    75
    You don't need a literature degree to appreciate the hooks and glorious, frenetic rhythms. [30 Mar 2007, p.75]
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  13. Blender
    70
    It’s an immersive, art-school-bred aesthetic that, three or four times on the band’s debut album, makes for some very good music, too.
  14. All Music Guide
    70
    It's a little uneven and definitely not the reinvention of music as we know it, but Myths of the Near Future is a strong enough debut to survive a level of hype that has crushed other bands, and enjoyable enough to return to when the hype dies down.
  15. BBC collective
    70
    Klaxons serve up Day-Glo pagan ritual and pop silliness on toast, and kids get sick on it.
  16. Sputnikmusic
    70
    Myths of the Near Future is no classic- the highs don’t come fast enough to warrant that- but it’s a solid debut release from one of the least pretentious bands around.
  17. Billboard
    70
    This debut can't quite capture the wide-eyed euphoria of a Klaxons live show, but readymade anthems like "Golden Skans," "Totem on the Timeline" and "Magick" will energize dance fans and rockers alike.
  18. Dusted Magazine
    70
    Listen to the tracks that are not being released as singles and you'll see that the band truly does have something to offer outside of their super-fun-party-time aesthetic.
  19. Almost Cool
    70
    Mostly a blast of fun.
  20. cokemachineglow
    60
    Myths of the Near Future is probably the most assured British debut since Franz Ferdinand’s self-titled.
  21. Q Magazine
    60
    Tidy enough indie pop, though the glowstick remains unwaved. [Feb 2007, p.99]
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  22. musicOMH.com
    60
    If it weren't for the big three singles... and the habitually contagious Golden Skans standing well above the rest of the album, there would be nothing new or interesting about Myths.
  23. PopMatters
    60
    While Myths of the Near Future is far from revolutionary, the creative, layered production on their debut is definitely worth checking out.
  24. Prefix Magazine
    60
    So eager are Klaxons to prove they're not one-trick "new ravers" that they fall into contemporary dance-rock conventions.
  25. Stylus Magazine
    58
    This clearly isn’t rave, or even a reinvention of rave. They’re an indie band with a half-decent gimmick.
  26. The A.V. Club
    58
    Most of this album is a slapdash mess.
  27. Rolling Stone
    40
    On Myths, they expand their suspiciously indie-ish rock riffs with tales of centaurs ("4 Horsemen of 2012") and Cyclopses ("Isle of Her"). Glowsticks are go! Or not!
  28. The Guardian
    20
    The songs descend the same chords repeatedly and ponderously, as if the band were falling down the same flight of stairs over and over again.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.1 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 57 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 29
  3. Negative: 4 out of 29
  1. Ricko
    7
    It's got an absolutely blistering cover of "It's Not Over Yet" and you see absolute genius in action here. Outside of that there isn't much else that grabs my attention. Yes its experimental and tried lots of new ideas out but generally it reminds me of a poorer, much less focused and much less melodic version of Bloc Party.… Full Review »
  2. PianoMan
    9
    The rave scene. When you think about it, you would associate it with house music and drum 'n' bass. The kind of music you'd hear blaring out of many 17 year-old adolescents' cars on a main road in a not very well known town. And then something weird happened. Rave got indie. New and young bands emerged and took indie music to the clubs. There were many pioneers of this. Late Of The Pier, for example, or Crystal Castles with their 8-bit chips at the ready. But there was no pioneer as distinctive, popular or insane as Klaxons.

    Now with less experienced indie-rave bands, they will make an album which will sound pretty strange and almost chaotic, but at the same time make an album that fails to capture their live sound. So all of the pressure was on Klaxons to make a pretty damn good album. And did they do it?

    Well 'Myths Of The Near Future' starts with 'Two Receivers', which starts with a quiet build-up of drums that then leads to a massive chorus, with indie guitars, rave synthesizers, and HUGE bass. Following it is 'Atlantis To Interzone', which is a primary example of Klaxons can do when they go absolutely mental. It's also the best ever use of a school Yamaha DJ keyboard. The clubs love it. The indie fans love it. And I love it.

    Then comes the song Klaxons are probably famous for, 'Golden Skans'. It's one of the most simple moments here, but still satisfies the ravers in great style. 'Totem On The Timeline' is a frantic 3-minute frenzy that's lyrics speak of meeting various historical figures in Club 1830. I.e. it's great.

    So too is 'As Above So Below', slower than some songs on here, but still keeps the wild party alive. Mind you, it would do, because it has a chorus the size of the cosmos it speaks of. 'Isle Of Her' is the slowest song on the album (and longest, if you don't count the 17-minute silence at the end of 'Four Horsemen Of 2012', which I'll talk about later). But is it boring? Hell no. It's as weird as the rest of the album, singing "Cyclops gazing alone", but is strangely chilling, something which Klaxons do very well indeed.

    The pace picks up with the arrival of single 'Gravity's Rainbow'. It's only two-and-a-half minutes, but it fills those two-and-a-half minutes with some of the most chaotic, insane and brilliant indie music that has been gracing the whole of Klaxons' debut. 'Forgotten Works' recalls J.G Ballard's short story book, which is also called 'Myths Of The Near Future', hence the album title. But the references are surrounded in a sound that dominates the three-and-a-half minutes. It is fantastic.

    Then comes what is definitely the pinnacle of the album, 'Magick'. Lesson to new bands: blaring synthesizers, pummeling drums and chilling vocals makes up for one hell of a song. Take heed, songwriters. Then comes a cover of the 90s dance made famous by Grace, 'Not Over Yet', which is a song I don't like. But if you listen to the cover version, you'll be able to tell that Klaxons have transformed it into something it should have been originally - mind-blowing.

    It all finishes with the afore mentioned 'Four Horsemen Of 2012', which, if not for the 17-minute silence following it, would be the shortest song on the album. The song itself is the noisiest and the scariest, but is incredibly thrilling at the same time.

    To sum up, then, 'Myths Of The Near Future' is regularly cacophonous, often insane and sometimes terrifying. Which is everything an indie-rave album should be.

    DOWNLOAD: 'Two Recievers', 'Forgotten Works', 'Magick'    … Full Review »
  3. ClaraP.
    4
    two or three ok songs, then those monotonous, repetitive sing-songy chord structures, over and over and over again I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown - aaaaahhhh! "glow sticks"? "neon" what is this? have you people ever heard real rave music (it was 90% horrible too!) this is just fashion music. clangy and irritating after track four but yeah, first few tracks ok. mercury prize!?!? nuts.… Full Review »
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