Midnight Juggernauts sophomore album, The Crystal Axis, debuted at No 20 on the ARIA chart and was released on 28 May 2010.

Immediately the album hits you with everything from percussive, hypnotic grooves to luxuriant jams via rich morricone esque textural diversions, walls of sound, and 70s AM melodic forks to map a 50-minute symphony of synth-rock invention.

Does that make sense? If not, listen to the album and you will know what it means. It's a rich banquet of sounds wrapped up in dance sized portions.

Never ones to rest on their laurels, Midnight Juggernauts follow up to 2007's Dystopia is a consolidation of the live experimentation and performance chemistry they have pursued over the last few years.

It gets better though, because for all their jamming and spontaneous creativity the professional songwriting and production on the tracks has kept them contained and easy to listen and dance to.

Geez, I can't believe I'm only up to G. Maybe an acrostic poem wasn't the smartest idea.

Hit singles This New Technology and Vital Signs are both great tracks and understandably good chart singles, but the album offers so much more for keen fans.

To be honest, the album suffers from vocals on tracks like Vital Signs or Fade To Red. It's these simplistic, breathy vocal verses that really take away from the power and strength of Midnight Juggernaut's music. 

Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and John Coltrane would all probably have liked The Crystal Axis. Jimi would especially like the Axis bit in the title.

Underlying all the tracks is a clever and sophisticated use of synthesizers. Midnight Juggernauts aren't just a rock band following the latest synth fad, they created the fad.

Gorgeous soundscapes and pads are layered with piercing melodic synths and arpeggios of all sorts. I even think I heard a 80s Commodore computer game soundtrack somewhere in the mix.

Grinding basslines and a strong focus on groovy, percussive rhythm help keep the music grounded. Chorus hooks keep it catchy.

Eating away at me is how much the soft, breathy vocals really do let the album down. The harmonies and falsettos I like however - Lifeblood Flow is a good example of the vast difference between the more boring verses and the upbeat chorus vocal parts.

Rating = 7/10

Not hard to pick my initial favourites - Induco, Vital Signs, This New Technology, The Great Beyond and Winds of Fortune are all up there.

And there's not much more to say except:

U shld rly get ths albm ;)

Try and get along to one of their live shows too. Midnight Juggernauts are unbeatable live and they'll be touring throughout Australia in August.

So that's it. Midnight Juggernauts. The Crystal Axis.