Midnight Juggernauts

The influence of Ed Banger has had as much as an effect on rockers as it has ravers, and Melbourne, Australia’s Midnight Juggernauts are a perfect example of the Parisian label’s impact. Originally released almost a year ago, Dystopia is an album that had artists like Justice (who they toured with) and Sebastian not brought French house back in vogue would have sounded like a ’70s arena rock throwback. As much as the trio enjoy building strapping electro house with their synths, they love rock’n’roll’s conventional tools like guitars and live drums. The dramatic prog symphony that builds the brief interlude "Scorpius” is a grand statement, if not a little cheesy, but this, in tandem with massive, sweeping anthems like the spacey "Into the Galaxy” and the filter disco of "Road to Recovery,” show ambition for house music to become as much a band thing as it is a DJ thing. Sadly, most of the time they’re better sounding like ELO than they are Daft Punk, and the derivative "So Many Frequencies” and the mindless Ratatat aping in "Tombstone” really show their inability as dance "producers.” Dystopia shines in spots but isn’t quite the ironic wonderland its creators want it to be.