Nu What?

Above: Clothing by Cassetteplaya
I'd be the first to agree that the Nu Rave scene is anything but under-rated, over-hyped, and over-exposed. It doesn't seem especially interesting to me, this concept of having a new wave of ravers. Ravers used to be terribly stereotyped, always dying from e overdoses, run ins with gangs and the law, and their penchant for using annoying neon glow stix.
But somehow the Klaxons made youth debauchery, drug use, and neon-bleached garments in again. Maybe it's just the ADD generation ... not sure.

Although, don't get me wrong ... I haven't disliked one Klaxons track, and I haven't not been up for downloading one of the one hundred thousands remixes, mash-ups, and re-edits. No, not me ...

So I just came across this other Nu Rave guy (yes, there are others!) named Silverlink. This guy's graphic motif seems to be fractals, and that is actually ... the best thing he could have come up to visually represent himself. This is rave music, but with a hyper-activity unlike anything I've ever heard before. It's like a nonstop rave track that's been layered with a filtered Hendrix solo and sped up to 1000 bpm. Or something. If nothing else, you should at least check this guy out because it's so crazy, so bizarre and mind boggling. He does indeed have a MySpace page.

I won't claim to know what drives these London kids ... one second their listening to Klaxons, the next their listening to revived Brit-pop acts like the Sunshine Underground. Wait, should I call this group Brit-pop? Do they resemble the "greats" (Blur, for example)?
The weird thing about bands like the Sunshine Underground is that they draw equally from bands like Blur (sweet hooks, start-stop format, clear guitar lines) and [unfortunately] Coldplay (listen to the ambiance! the swooning rhythm guitar ... can't you already see the lighters being cheerfully held up in the air?) ...
They've a MySpace page as well.

So I don't get it. I'm baffled. But that's what makes it great; that's what makes it all so exciting.
And ... for your listening pleasure, some new Klaxons tracks (from the forthcoming debut LP, Myths of the Near Future).

Klaxons - Two Receivers
Klaxons - Totem On the Timeline
Klaxons - As Above, So Below
Klaxons - Isle of Her