Space: it's up there!!!

Duh! Who doesn't know that?

Perhaps you were quick to agree that space is, truly, "up there", but not everyone can be quick acknowledge who the Midnight Juggernauts are. We must travel far, perhaps to the edge of the ocean, to arrive at the homeland of this trio, the land which naively so, for me, remains a dream image somewhere between the thematics of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, dust and diesel, and the dreamy space landscape artists Midnight Juggernauts create in my mind. Like artists previously written about on this blog, Midnight Juggernauts hail from the current hotbed of nouvelle-vague artists, Australia. Take a glimpse at the cover of their first full length album, Dystopia, and you'll quickly understand a shade of their gestalt, a space-centric theme. What does Dystopia mean? It can be "a work of fiction describing an imaginary place where life is extremely bad because of deprivation or oppression or terror." Couple this definition with the idea of an infinite space, Korg synthesizers, and you have one of the top independent albums of 2007. Who's Radiohead? (Only joking!) In fact, outside of friendly cooperation with other artists and labels, Midnight Juggernauts have no formal record deal. With the gravity they have achieved in """"today's day and age,"""" to use that hackneyed phrase, their success is unique and commendable. Least to mention, they were picked up by Justice to open for their World Tour, and have gained the two French boys' vote as favorite album of the year.

If you want to make a memorable impression this season, I feel confident in recommending the purchase of this album for that not-so-musically-inlined friend, the one that likes all those bands from LA, with all those tattoos, you know? Did I mention LA? The Dystopia album may be purchased here. I also feel confident in communicating their appeal by only posting this remix of fellow OZ musicians, Damn Arms.

Damn Arms - The Cormorant (Midnight Juggernauts Remix)

As a bomus, enjoi this informal genealogy of sounds.

Electric Light Orchestra - Here is the News (1981)

Space Art - Onyx (1976)