Klaxons
Love Frequency 2LP / WAS Distribution
The party isn’t over for London’s Klaxons. Just months away from celebrating their 10-year anniversary as a collective, a new sense of spiritual empowerment sits atop their signature new-rave future-funk. Four years removed from the ayahuasca-induced riffs of Surfing the Void, the collective purposefully discovered new (and less hallucinatory) inspirations for their newest full-length, Love Frequency. Still, the psychedelic themes remain.Although unintentional, as several of the singles made their way to BBC Radio months ago, the album’s 11 tracks serve as an ode to the life’s work of the just-passed chemist Alexander Shulgin, aka the Godfather of Ecstasy. Not only does a singular white roll comprise the album artwork, but each of the tracks can be traced back to the ideals of a collective consciousness and peace, love, unity, and respect.For those knowledgeable about Shulgin’s work, or that of visionary Alex Grey, “Invisible Forces” goes much deeper than that of a romantic couple: “Invisible forces/ Holding us together/ Nothing is between us/ You make me feel real.” This notion of transcendent connection is also the base for “Atom to Atom”, “Rhythm of Life”, and “Children of the Sun” (produced by The Chemical Brothers’ Tom Rowlands). The third is the lone track that embraces the band’s former ballistic post-punk edge.Although each track aside from the instrumental “Liquid Light” remains prime for an indie-focused dance floor (thanks in part to production credits by Erol Alkan and James Murphy), a new sense of calm introspection arrives with the band’s revelations. The album’s first four cuts listen like a self-help manifesto, urging everyone to move “Out of the Dark” and find a “New Reality”.The underlying messages are profound, yet their depth does nothing to detract from a more superficial connection with the left-field electronic beats. With the assistance of English production duo Gorgon City, Klaxons are set to take on the pop realm during the summer of 2014 with the easygoing vibes of “There Is No Other Time”. But once the sun sets, the power of the sentiments remain.