Albums to watch

Surfing the Void

Klaxons

Surfing the Void

Follow up to the Mercury Prize-winning debut album from the London indie rock quartet

ADM rating[?]

6.7

Label
Polydor
UK Release date
23/08/2010
  1. 8.0 |   Q

    Their willingness to really go for it, without fear of how ridiculous they might appear, is impressive. Print edition only

  2. 8.0 |   The Skinny

    Out go (to a certain extent) the soaring keyboards, replaced with pounding rhythm and some mean guitar licks
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  3. 8.0 |   BBC

    Against the odds it might be time to sit up and pay them some respect.
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  4. 8.0 |   The Scotsman

    Surfing The Void sounds fantastic, especially at ear-splitting volume
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  5. 8.0 |   NME

    One of the best pop albums of the year - but still one of the most individual and ambitious
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  6. 8.0 |   Daily Telegraph

    They now sound like a proper band, rather than a Day-Glo fashion statement
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  7. 8.0 |   God Is In The TV

    There's a general absence of calculated rock theatrics, meaning any melodrama present seems genuine and not a contrived attempt to sell out arenas
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  8. 8.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    An album which, heard out of context in pretty much any era, would be an ear-jolting, borderline mind-blowing listen
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  9. 8.0 |   Clash

    It’s safe to say ‘Surfing The Void’ was worth the wait.
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  10. 8.0 |   PopMatters

    Most of Surfing the Void combines the band’s dance-punk aesthetic, but delivered upon thick slabs of rawk production. Outcasts from a pair of long-departed genres working in concert never made so much sense, especially in the mix
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  11. 8.0 |   No Ripcord

    It’s not something you’d expect out of a band that ostensibly plays pop music, but all of that sound is really easy to get wrapped up in
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  12. 7.5 |   The Quietus

    They can report the mission complete: we're still interested in Klaxons' future. Not because, as was once believed, they knew what it sounded like, but because there’s proof here they still have their heads in the clouds
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  13. 7.2 |   Pitchfork

    Surfing occasionally fails and does so loudly, but there's something thrillingly unfashionable about how Klaxons take aim at their grayer peers with a tommy gun full of glowsticks-- they don't always hit their target, but it's a gloriously fun mess all the same
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  14. 7.0 |   FasterLouder

    The album may lose its footing here and there but there’s still enough rocket fuel in Klaxons’ tank to warrant joining them for another ride
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  15. 7.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    An interesting, and mostly rewarding collection of songs. What's more, Klaxons have fully shaken free of the stifling 'nu rave' tag, instead sounding like an unholy alliance between Captain Beefheart and Slayer for the most part
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  16. 7.0 |   Spin

    Even Klaxons' most ominously rambunctious tracks grind out plenty of bug-eyed dream-pop chants
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  17. 7.0 |   musicOMH

    A creditable follow-up from a band re-establishing and confirming their status as one of UK music's more enjoyable and innovative bunch of eccentrics
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  18. 6.5 |   Beats Per Minute

    Klaxons should be applauded for making such an unconventional sophomore album
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  19. 6.0 |   Evening Standard

    When Klaxons' intergalactic musings are married to memorable melodies, as on Twin Flames and Future Memories, their kaleidoscopic pop vision is still one worth sharing
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  20. 6.0 |   The Guardian

    The difficult second album is a cliche with truth on its side, and at times here the difficulty is all suffered by the listener
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  21. 6.0 |   Rave Magazine

    Surfing The Void is a solid and entertaining album, it’s just not a particularly fresh or exciting one
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  22. 6.0 |   Mojo

    These songs prove their drive not to lose impetus. Print edition only

  23. 6.0 |   State

    Though the album may be markedly heavier in tone than its predecessor, it still maintains the band’s brand of fabulous whimsy and ridiculous lyrics
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  24. 6.0 |   Uncut

    Klaxons' whole sci-fi collage schtick seems suddenly a little less appealing. Print edition only

  25. 6.0 |   Eye Weekly

    The album feels much like a trip through the atmosphere — hurtling in a high-pressure horizon with no room to breathe
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  26. 6.0 |   The Observer

    A richer, guitar-heavy sound, a makeover that, while efficient, stifles the sense of mischief, as well as the pop sensibility, that made them fun in the first place
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  27. 5.0 |   Prefix

    There’s no telling how this might have turned out originally, but all we’re left with is this. An album that, at best, serves to remind other bands what happens when their label gets involved in the creative process. The label will make them into a parody of themselves
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  28. 5.0 |   The Fly

    Whilst ‘Surfing The Void’s highs most definitely outweigh its lows, we can’t say we weren’t hoping for quite a bit more
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  29. 4.0 |   The Digital Fix

    Surfing the Void basically sounds like Myths of the Near Future Version 2.0 - worse, at some points it almost sounds like a pastiche
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  30. 2.0 |   The Independent

    Far and away the worst album I've heard all year
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Klaxons: Surfing the Void

  • Download full album for just £8.49
  • 1. Echoes £0.99
  • 2. The Same Space £0.99
  • 3. Surfing The Void £0.99
  • 4. Valley Of The Calm Trees £0.99
  • 5. Venusia £0.99
  • 6. Extra Astronomical £0.99
  • 7. Twin Flames £0.99
  • 8. Flashover £0.99
  • 9. Future Memories £0.99
  • 10. Cypherspeed £0.99
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