When the Klaxons first came to fruition and were heralded as champions of nu rave and the defining voice of contemporary rock music by British press back in 2007, it didn’t seem like a stretch. Their debut album Myths of the Near Future had everything that people wanted and needed to hear in a rock record. There were catchy vocal harmonies, unpredictable instrumental freak-outs, and lyrics that were poetic and felt good to sing along to, even though only a comparative lit professor could truly claim to understand the 11 cryptic tracks. References to the great works of authors such as Willaim S. Burroughs and Thomas Pynchon were probably lost on the majority of the young British nu rave fans, and all but completely lost on the American youth who stumbled across their music, but the Klaxons never failed to captivate with their spastic dance energy, catchy melodies, and a unique style that could not be ignored. Three years have passed since the Klaxons made their first bold statement, and much had changed, including the statement. The one thing that hasn’t changed is that the Klaxons are still as bold as ever.

The biggest change (and certainly the biggest risk) with this album came from their choice for producer. After some difficulties arose while recording with James Ford (of Simian Mobile Disco and the producer of Myths), they decided to throw up the mother of all Hail Marrys by recruiting Ross Robinson to take the helm as producer. Excuse me, did I miss something? Robinson doesn’t exactly have a reputation for producing artists straddling the pop rock/dance genres. His production credits include Slipknot, Limp Bizkit and Korn… yikes (to be fair though, he also produced the best At The Drive-In album). Although the choice may be shocking, what is more shocking is that the collaboration was surprisingly fruitful for the Klaxons. The album leads off with the single “Echoes,” which definitely starts pulses high and sets the tone for the entire album. From this first track you can hear the difference in style, but you can also hear what has remained the same. The drums are harder, the guitar is louder, and the instruments in general are used to pummel you from start to finish. However, the beautiful high-pitched harmonies still managed to find their way into the Void, and the cryptic lyrics are as intriguing as ever. The perplexing poetry of their song writing remains intact with lines like “Myriads of silver discs, signals have been noticed, out on the drift, here comes the flashover, from our new neighbor, here comes the flashover, behold new colors,” from the new track “Flashover.” This is an interesting song to dissect, because the dark, ear-punishing instrumentals in the beginning of the song seem to obviously reflect Ross Robinson’s influence. By the time you get to the first vocal harmony, however, it becomes so certainly a Klaxon’s song with its melancholy melody.

When it comes down to it, Surfing the Void is a tough nut to crack. It’s extremely abrasive and there aren’t too many entry points for people who loved their pop sensibilities in Myths of the Near Future. “Echoes” is a good introduction, with “The Same Space,” “Valley of the Calm Trees,” “Twin Flames,” and “Future Memories” being slightly softer around the edges as well. Most of the other tracks are difficult to keep up with, but they do grow on you once you give them a chance. I personally love the tripped-out “Venusia,” which sounds like an outer space anthem of epic proportions, but only after you give it the benefit of a few listens to properly soak in. To be honest, I have to give props to the Klaxons for Surfing the Void. They didn’t try to make another Myths, but rather they took a big risk and set their sights on something that no one could have ever predicted, and they executed it well. If the songs from their first album were myths of the near future, then songs off Surfing sound more like hallucinations from a distant apocalypse, and it works, believe it or not.

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