If there was one scene revival that nobody saw coming, it was rave. Let's face it - who in their right mind wants to relive memories of giant baby soothers, NaffNaff jackets and glow-in-the-dark cycling shorts? Quite a lot of people, actually; Klaxons, a band whose sound has been described as everything from 'acid rave sci-fi punk' to 'when Buzz Aldrin returned from the moon and turned Muslim' were one of the biggest buzz bands on the scene in the latter half of last year. Whether the London trio are 'new-rave', however, is debatable - one listen to Myths of the Near Future dispels any notions of over-the-top synths or anthemic hard house beats. Instead, there are plenty of spacey keyboards and frantic art-rock riffs, all topped off with several large dollops of literary and occult references (most notably William Burroughs (Atlantis to Interzone) and Aleister Crowley (Magick)) - and I'd bet my iPod on there being a nod to Philip K. Dick in there, too. Opener Two Receivers crashes into a Close Encounters-style wig-out with an Adam Ant-meets-Bloc Party drum intro; the eerie, otherworldly wonder Isle of Her could soundtrack a frantic journey down the River Styx, with its repetitive 'Row, there's only seven more miles to go' refrain, while the superb Gravity's Rainbow spirals supernaturally around a demonic bassline. It's not all maniacal clusters of accelerated punk riffs and fiendish keys, though - Golden Skans showcases the band's talent for writing strong melodies and catchy choruses, Totem on the Timeline's sinister time-travelling trek references Julius Caesar, Lady Diana, Mother Teresa and Club 18-30 in one breath, and their cover of Grace's 90s club classic 'Not Over Yet' is glowstick-wavingly brilliant. Those who may have written Klaxons off as a faddish farce with a couple of decent singles would be advised to reconsider on this evidence; Myths of the Near Future is a consistent debut with not a single duff track on display. Perhaps this 'new rave' rumpus will be around longer than we expect.
