Midnight Juggernauts - Uncanny Valley
by Adrian Janes
published: 15 / 7 / 2013
Label:
Record Makers
Format: CD
intro
Deceptively bland and poppy but eventually enthralling electronic-influenced third album from Australian band, Midnight Juggernauts
Australian bands often seem to tend one way or the other in the face of the competing influences from American and British music. Melbourne’s Midnight Juggernauts definitely lean towards the British/European electronic end of the spectrum on this, their third album. This is highlighted by the almost classic English vocals on opening song ‘HCL’, which wouldn’t be out of place on an early Pink Floyd album. They are however surrounded by a much more contemporary sound of throbbing keyboard, high synth line and thumping beat, building the tension until its release into a highly danceable chorus. Indeed the first few tracks on this album are especially dancefloor-friendly, but there is intelligence at work here too, using regular changes of tone and subtle effects to maintain interest. Single ‘Memorium’ has an urgent feel, dominated by an insistent organ that contrasts with a precise, slightly sibilant vocal pitched low and melancholy in a way that recalls David Bowie. The song’s coda, blending piano and a swirling keyboard effect, gently emphasises its sadness. By contrast, ‘Streets of Babylon’, with its House beat and slowly ascending piano, is strongly affirmative: “Beneath the streets of Babylon/This world is ours/These stars are ours”, even as it seems to acknowledge that such possession has to be either above or below society’s radar. A song like ‘Sugar and Bullets’, even in its title, exemplifies the band’s approach, a pop music of surface brightness with a shadow side. The vocals on the verses are pitched low and set against a background falsetto, before the chorus breaks into a quasi-Bee Gees refrain over a rippling keyboard. But then you realise that this sweet chorus concerns a ‘Paradise’ where you are: “Paralysed/Burned alive/Buried deep in the earth”. ‘Master of Gold’ is a rapturous and all too short ballad, the harmonies not quite attaining an Animal Collective ecstacy but not far away. The harmonies on ultra-catchy “Systematic’ again have that English air (redolent of Badfinger or even their Beatles mentors), and once more the smoothness is saved from tipping into MOR, this time by distorted guitar embellishments. ‘Another Land’ brings a jagged guitar and a simple, nagging keyboard phrase to the fore and is only let down by some comical-sounding deep-pitched singing. Perhaps it’s meant to stress the seriousness of the song, but for me it doesn’t work - in fact it’s ditched for a more natural pitch in the latter half of the song. An earlier album by the band is entitled ‘Dystopia’, and songs like this (as with ‘Streets of Babylon’) seem to emerge from a strong if vague rejection of the status quo:”I’ll crush it all in the palm of my hands” leading to the determined intention to escape: “Lights out for another planet/Lights out for another land”. The juddering rhythm and prominent bass of ‘Melodiya’ evoke Joy Division, before opening out into a New Order-style groove, keyboard ebbing and flowing in and out of earshot along with reverberating voices. This album, on first hearing somewhat bland and poppy, in fact repays closer listening. In spirit it’s comparable to Depeche Mode, who similarly have a gift for memorable melody while hinting at darker feelings and concerns. Each song has its own character, enhanced by the variety of instrumentation, strong singing and constant little surprises in the production. Having supported Tame Impala on tour in Australia, there’s a lot here to suggest they could gain similar popularity in this country, albeit amongst a different audience.
Track Listing:-
1 HCL2 Ballad Of The War Machine
3 Memorium
4 Streets Of Babylon
5 Sugar And Bullets
6 Master Of Gold
7 Systematic
8 Deep Blue Lines
9 Another Land
10 Melodiya
Band Links:-
http://www.midnightjuggernauts.com/https://www.facebook.com/midnightjuggernauts
https://twitter.com/juggernauts
Label Links:-
http://www.recordmakers.com/https://www.facebook.com/RecordMakers
https://instagram.com/RecordMakers/
https://www.youtube.com/user/RecordMakers
https://plus.google.com/115938685775674492654
https://vimeo.com/recordmakers
soundcloud
most viewed articles
current edition
Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies - Sala Apolo, Barcelona, 29/11/2023 and La Paqui, Madrid, 30/11/2023Anthony Phillips - Interview
Difford and Tilbrook - Difford and Tilbrook
Rain Parade - Interview
Oldfield Youth Club - Interview
Autumn 1904 - Interview
Shaw's Trailer Park - Interview
Cafe No. 9, Sheffield and Grass Roots Venues - Comment
Chris Hludzik - Vinyl Stories
Pete Berwick - ‘Too Wild to Tame’: The story of the Boyzz:
most viewed reviews
current edition
Serious Sam Barrett - A Drop of the Morning DewMarika Hackman - Big Sigh
Rod Stewart and Jools Holland - Swing Fever
Loves - True Love: The Most of The Loves
Ian M Bailey - We Live in Strange Times
Paul McCartney and Wings - Band on the Run
Autumn 1904 - Tales of Innocence
Roberta Flack - Lost Takes
Banter - Heroes
Posey Hill - No Clear Place to Fall
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart