Smash hit

“Irony’s a funny word, isn’t it?” ponders Reynolds with a note of caution. “But there’s absolutely no irony in anything we do.”

Instead, blame the big kids at school. Or at least blame the sounds of C&C Music Factory and Ratpack emanating from sixth-form centres and older brother's bedrooms for Klaxons’ interest in 'aving it large.

Righton squirms at the memory: “You always wanted to know what people in the top year were into, that’s how I got into it. Then someone would bring a rave mixtape into the youth club, and the next thing you know there are 20 kids dancing around, high on e-numbers.”

The experience of Reynolds seems to have been much the same: “If you had a little strobe light, you were the most popular kid in the playground.”

Nevertheless, the more they talk, the more you sense that they feel that a little too much is made of their rave influences. Given that 2006 flew by in a flurry of acid-house smiley faces, this could sound rich. But when you hear Myths of the Near Future, you’ll have to concede that they’re absolutely right. For every snatch of siren or swirling piano, there’s oddball guitar noodling, frenetic three-man chants, Eighties pop melody plus the odd portentous vision of a dystopian future. It all adds up to the kind of album you half expect to be adorned by the fantastical prog-rock cover art of Roger Dean — a suggestion that leaves everyone nodding frantically.

“It’s weird, but recently we’ve been getting more and more proggy,” says Righton. “Maybe we can dress up as wizards? Do Klaxons on Ice!” cries Reynolds.

“But prog and rave are completely polar,” argues Righton. “People have only heard a few singles and some stuff we have put on MySpace, but a lot of our influences have been overlooked. The album will be a shock to anyone who thinks we’re just trying to be a rave band. I’ve always said that we are a pop band, and we wanted to make this a pop album.”

A sci-fi pop album? “The idea was to bring things that aren’t typically in a pop context into a pop context,” says Reynolds, after talking enthusiastically about Douglas Adams and J. G. Ballard. Aleister Crowley provides inspiration for the recent single Magick, and the band admit that there is a certain kick to be had out of hearing teenage girls shouting back lyrics that revolve around a dead, sex-mad occultist.

Later, just before Klaxons take the stage, the dance floor is a sea of Day-Glo with the anticipation fuelled by cans of something called Velocity energy drink. The scene is a Bugsy Malone version of an East End warehouse party. Cabals of young girls draw inexpertly on fags and hug pretty boys who have bought parent-baiting T-shirts that read “Klaxons are c****”. When the band take the stage, augmented by the live drummer Steffan Halperin, euphoric chaos ensues; glow sticks are lobbed, sparklers lit and energy drink is sprayed stickily over the shrieking fans.

Young Jerome’s prediction that the show would be “a proper rave” is wide of the mark, but only if you’re old enough to associate proper raves with fields, Ecstasy and music “predominantly characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats” (as per the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994). But for kids who steal lollipop-lady tops from school this will do just fine.

Other newcomers to watch out for in 2007

The Twang
These Brummies already have a sizeable army of local fans and a reputation for being “a bit rock’n’ roll”. Add to that Streets-style vocals, a knack for a nice tune and towering U2 guitars, and you have the perfect indie “lad-rock” package.

Findlay Brown
Apparently teenage dabbling in LSD and Jimi Hendrix saved the York- born Brown from a career in the Army — just the sort of romantic back story you would hope for in a Radio 2-friendly folkster. Thanks to a TV ad (for Mastercard) and a fine pair of cheekbones, he should soon be wrestling the spotlight from James Blunt and his clones.

Tinariwen
Hailing from the south Sahara, Tinariwen are not exactly new, having released their first set of rootsy Tuareg blues on cassette in 1992, but they are newly signed to Independiente, home to Travis and Embrace. With fans such as Carlos Santana and Thom Yorke, this could be the year they move beyond world music purists.

Candie Payne
Payne is the younger sister of the Zutons drummer and her debut is bold, Sixties-inspired, Wall of Sound stuff. More pop than jazz and with Payne’s voice pretty rather than gutsy, she’s a Petula Clark to Amy Winehouse’s Ella.

Uffie
Uffie, aka the 18-year-old Californian Anna Hartley, moved to Paris last year, decided ballet and a trust fund weren’t enough, and in just nine months bagged a record deal with the hip dance label Ed Banger. Rapping like Peaches’ minxy younger sister and with collaborators such as Mr Oizo (of Levi’s fame), she will surely become more than a fashionista favourite.

Rumble Strips
The Devonians’ debut record has a huge sound, showing that a trip to Los Angeles to work with Tony Hoffer (Kooks, the Fratellis) paid off. Boasting brass, joanna-bashing and a pin-up singer, this is music to blow your wig off.

PHOEBE GREENWOOD

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