Confused Disko

Melbourne's very own Midnight Juggernauts release their sophomore album, The Crystal Axis today. While at least two tracks have already been well and truly leaked ('This New Technology' and 'Vital Signs' bounced off our collective eardrums a while ago), listening to the album in its entirety is (inevitably) another thing altogether.


This album was written more collectively – though the three fellas still write somewhat separately – with the band more often physically together than when writing Dystopia, and it's led to a more live, less electronic sound. However, even with fewer of those indie-dancefloor-fillers that brought the trio to the children of the discos three years ago, The Crystal Axis doesn't seem to be a conscious divergence – this is neither an album that is blatantly appealing to the masses nor is it an abstract, concept "you-can't-pin-us-down" rebellion album. It is, however, pretty epic. It's a haunting collection of cinematic and slightly warped, wonky take on indie-rock/pop that, at times, would be as appropriate on a winter road-trip as on the soundtrack for the Labyrinth.

After an outerspace-ish instrumental introduction, the album bleeds into an expansive and, at times, almost orchestral beast. 'This New Technology' is still one of the album's strongest songs (that said, the 'Vital Signs' was a perfect choice as the album's – possibly official? – lead single), but there are plenty of other spectacles. 'Lara Versus The Savage Pack' is a pop/rock ditty that seems to channel a kind of future-past; likewise 'Winds of Fortune'. Most tracks have expansive introductions and there are a few scuzzy, semi-abstract sounding moments that, depending on the listener and their mood, will sound either tremendous or self-indulgent. 'Fade to Red' is swirling melancholy, and closes the album in the Juggernauts' trademark cinematic style.

Label: Siberia Records
Source: 2xCD, Album, Limited Edition
Release date: May-28-2010
Style: Indie / Synth-Pop

Tracklist:
CD1

01. Induco
02. Vital Signs
03. Lifeblood Flow
04. This New Technology
05. Lara Versus The Savage Pack
06. The Great Beyond
07. Cannibal Freeway
08. Virago
09. Winds Of Fortune
10. Dynasty
11. Lemuria
12. Fade To Red

CD2

01. Fantastic Valleys
02. Battlescars
03. Virago Reprise (Windy Night)
04. Get Connected
05. Lara Versus The Savage Pack (Demo)
06. Vital Signs (Tame Impala Cover)
07. This New Technology (Emperor Machine Remix)

download (Uploading)

download (TurboBit)

download (Sharingmatrix)