Klaxons: Flashover.

For a band who single handedly introduced me to a sea of glowsticks and trashy 'nu-rave' slogan tees, Klaxon's return has been a long time coming. Three years after their magical debut 'Myths of the Near Future', it looks like I wasn't the only person who decided to put the neon fashion faux pas to the back of the wardrobe. Klaxons have come back with something familiar enough to quench their loyal fans thirst, yet different enough to catch the attention of music revellers who have not yet had the pleasure of indulging in the Klaxon's reckless charm.


Although not set to be released a single, track 'Flashover' is hopefully a sign of things to come from their latest offering, 'Surfing the Void'. We're thrown straight into the track, much like previous hits, although in a somewhat 'Horror-esque' style that Faris and Co would find themselves in awe of. What could have been a cacophony of noise becomes somewhat mesmerizing with the aid of Jamie Reynold's distinctive vocals.

Towards the end of the track there is a moment which almost sounds as though Kate Nash and her quirky piano have made a guest appearance, but it strangely works. Fading out into nothingness in true Klaxon's style, 'Flashover' presents us with just over five minutes of energetic yet spell binding bedlam.

This may not signal the return of the 'nu-rave' era, (and thank God for that!), but it's far from a disappointment. Klaxons have succeeded with an altogether enchanting, yet more mature, track and it looks as though 'Surfing the Void' is set to continue the theme.

And here is the track itself, have a listen.

Moby: Gone to Sleep.

So, Moby is back with another dose of ambiance - 'Wait For Me', a sixteen track offering comprised of sleepy melodies and slow moving symphonies. This, with his title track are everything we've come to expect from Moby over the years, with most of his previous works settling down comfortably in 'Chilled Out' compilations and the like, year after year. Don't get me wrong, it's not one to miss, but there's another track which in my opinion is proving to be a lot more interesting.

The track in question is 'Gone to Sleep', a powerful duet with songstress Kelli Scar, who also works with Moby on aforementioned title track 'Wait for Me'. For someone famed for his individuality and preference to work on his own, Moby's dream-like style plays the perfect partner to Scar's voice and makes you question why he doesn't adopt collaborators more often. The fact that Scar is far from mainstream, (after all, she doesn't have a Wikipedia page), makes this combination altogether more exciting.

What interested me the most was the process in which the duet was born, with New York radio station, NPR, setting Moby the challenge of recording a song in 2 days. Not only did he surprise the station and fans alike by churning out the track in just eight hours, he also took it upon himself to record an acoustic version and still had time to play a personal gig to the station's staff. Now that's dedication.

With inspiration coming from a series of images shown to the artists by photographer Phil Toledano, both Moby and Scar found themselves mesmerized by an image of a man in a trench coat, with his head resembling a storm cloud. They then were faced with a choice of words, with Moby choosing 'Flight' and Scar 'Sunday'. Compiling the image and words, Moby began to play a riff, which in turn resulted in the foundations for 'Gone to Sleep'. The track may have taken turns along the way, and wasn't called 'Flight Sunday' or anything along the lines of, however, the result is something which in my opinion is strangely beautiful.

Have a listen and take time to pay attention to the video, filmed in NPR's studio.