Klaxons - Landmarks of Lunacy EP Review

The tail end of 2010 was a happy time for frugal music fans, with heavy-hitters Gorillaz, Deerhunter, and M.I.A. all offering new material online for the low, low price of nothing. London trio Klaxons found themselves in the holiday spirit as well, capping off a year that finally saw their long-awaited second album, Surfing the Void, by posting an unreleased EP for free on their website. Recorded in 2008, Landmarks of Lunacy chronicles "three nocturnal weeks spent at Black Box studio" following the release of their Mercury Prize-winning debut, Myths of the Near Future. Helmed by Myths producer James Ford, Landmarks of Lunacy sheds light on the daunting process of trying to follow a hot debut album.

Grander in scope and more anthemic than their debut, Surfing the Void was a solid, engaging next step for the band. Landmarks of Lunacy acts as the connecting piece in the attempt to grow and remain relevant. The only problem is that the music itself is watery and wholly unmemorable. As the band struggled to find a new, more mature sound, they clumsily opted for safe routes at nearly every turn.

Klaxons spend most of the EP spinning their wheels, lazily plodding through the motions and failing to conjure any of the colorful imagery that marked their debut. Here was a band that once thrived off a unique, kinetic energy, so to find them aimlessly forcing psych textures and indulging in unfocused Britpop wanderings (presented lethargically and totally unmixed) is a real disappointment. Despite their ambrosial quality, "The Pale Blue Dot" and "Silver Forest" are simply half-formed, failing to achieve the far-out, cosmic feel they were going for.

The best part about Landmarks of Lunacy is knowing that things would eventually get better for Klaxons, and that a trepidatious toe-dip into the unknown is simply part of the record-making process. So it's ultimately frivolous to beat up on these five songs too much, especially considering the guys were nice enough to just hand these tracks over. In fact, two of them might even be granted an extended stay on your hard drive: "Wildeflowers" feels like a smoky, sinister answer to "Strawberry Fields Forever", and "Marble Fields", which could have been a minor Surfing the Void cut, sways dangerously, both frazzled and silky all at once. Landmarks of Lunacy should be regarded as a souvenir for Klaxons obsessives only. For the rest of us, well, at least the price is right....full text El ahora cuarteto de Klaxons nos regala un EP de 5 cancione sque grabaron en 2008 en el estudio Black Box junto a James Ford de Simian Mobile Disco, el cual trabajó con ellos en su disco debut y entre otros grupos que ha producido está Arctic Monkeys, Florence and the Machine, Mystery Jets, Peaches y más recientemente a Crocodiles...full text Last year, Klaxons finished recording their second album Surfing The Void. They had to change a lot of the songs because the record company(Polydor) found them to be 'too experimental'. So, Klaxons threw out those experimental songs and recorded a new, more commercial record. At least that's what they said, because Surfing The Void still sounded quite special, which wasn't surprising considering the fact that they were drugged throughout the whole production process. The real experiments by the band were locked away. Until now. The band has decided to release the remaining five songs as a free EP called Landmarks Of Lunacy.

Where their previous release failed, this album succeeds. Klaxons sound like a band again. This is especially true on Silver Forest, a relaxing breath of fresh air compared to the noisy tracks found on Surfing The Void. Gone is the awkward use of keyboards and nonsensical sound effects found on their previous effort, which were only used to make the songs sound spacey. The exeption to this is Ivy Leaves, where they use a simple background sound effect to create a sense of evolution towards a climax, which ultimately never comes. This makes the song a lot more interesting to listen to. The best thing about this EP however is that it all fits in just nicely. While none of the songs boast excessive power, they don't drag on either. This album just oozes a certain kind of calm, which makes the album a very enjoyable and relaxing listen.

As said, Klaxons sound more like a band than ever before. The guitar and bass playing, while not extraordinary, actually have their place in the songs. The drums on this album are not bad, but they don't really stand out either. Overall the rhythmic section will do nicely for these kind of songs, because their individual role isn't that important. The lyrics are also better this time around, contributing to the overall feeling of calmness of the EP....full text