Propelled by insistent synth beats, swirling electronica, moody vocals and apocalyptic lyrics, Melbourne’s Midnight Juggernauts may very well be the finest psychedelic dance band around. Loaded with brooding rhythms and dashes of everything from House to Disco, the band’s debut is an enervating listen. Dystopia’s finest moments are hard to resist: “Ending Of An Era” has all the churning darkness of the Doves, while “Into The Galaxy” evokes Scary Monsters-era Bowie. Meanwhile, “Twenty Thousand Leagues” begins with a creeping bassline that brings to mind the Talking Heads “Psycho Killer” and then morphs into a dreamy techno pop number that boasts an irresistible chorus. The trouble with Dystopia is that for all of its ambitions, some of the numbers here come across as merely sketches: “Shadows” and “Road To Recovery,” for example, are fueled by a mysterious energy that is truly danceable, but they don’t come across as finished pieces. In fact, both numbers go practically nowhere, and instead turn in on themselves and sputter, which is a shame, because there are good songs lurking in both compositions. But when Dystopia works, it really works: “Worlds Converged” opens with an a cappella harmony lifted straight from the Beach Boys and then morphs into a kinetic electro workout, while “So Many Frequencies” sounds like a cult classic from the early ‘80s
post-punk canon.
--Alex Green [June 2, 2008]
