Klaxons @ Corn Exchange

What to say about the Klaxons that hasn't already been said by any self-consciously avant-garde culture magazine, broadsheet mock-social-anthropologist or middle-aged Mercury Music Prize judge? Whatever you think of their responsibility for a rash of neon-splattered t-shirts in the local H&M, or the fact that it is now socially acceptable to bring a glow stick to a club again (well, maybe not), you can't deny that Myths Of The Near Future was a much-needed kick in the groin for the increasingly staid indie scene back in January. The doubters who had them down as a novelty act were soon eating their words when the Thomas Pynchon-quoting trio earned almost unanimously positive reviews and were heralded as pioneers of a new breed of indie-dance crossover. Anyone who witnessed their festival appearances this summer will testify to their ability to induce mass hysteria in their youthful following. Just don't mention the N-R word. [Nick Mitchell]