British band The Klaxons started to receive attention almost immediately after their debut 2006 singles, as is prone to happen in the buzz-happy UK. The rock outfit is decidedly arty but catchy, hailed as champions of the "new rave" movement, a response to their citing influence by early rave culture. Thankfully, the "movement" never caught on Stateside, although the hipster set has all too willingly adopted neon back into their wardrobes. Despite that association, Klaxons have been touring non-stop since the release of their debut album, Myths of the Near Future, which doesn't smack of that rave influence other than in some of the song's energy and hints of psychedelia. It's worth ignoring the hype and simply taking the music at face value, since The Klaxons have produced a collection of songs that stand on their own. more ›

For the last few years Austin’s SXSW Music festival has brought Seattle their best European (mostly U.K.) bands; many of them making their first appearance here before heading back across the pond or whisking away to the many summer music festivals around the country. Seattle seems like a good enough launch pad though, and we’ve got a few beauties lined up. On Monday, May 5th two of the biggest bands coming out of the U.K. right now just happen to be playing sold out shows on the same night – The Kooks at Crocodile Café and The Arctic Monkeys at The Showbox. On a Monday night no less? Tell us where else in the country you’ll see that! Our advice? Save your money and go check out The Klaxons tonight at The Crocodile (there should still be some tickets available here); a great British band on their final tune-up for Coachella and a ton of other huge festivals this year. We can’t get their debut release Myths of the Near Future out of our head and neither can a lot of the British mags hyping them all year (they've already sold out most all their U.K. dates). Call it indie new rave or British dance punk. It’s experimental at times, British pop at others, but definitely worth us checking out their live show. Care to take a listen? Check out a few tracks from their Myspace page here. more ›