Midnight Juggernauts - Uncanny Valley

  by Adrian Janes

published: 15 / 7 / 2013

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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 HCL
2 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

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