Echoes

Album: Surfing The Void (2010)
Charted: 55
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is the first single and opening track from British Nu Rave band Klaxons' second album, Surfing The Void. The lyric, "Numberless names within the force of the ninth wave" is a reference to The Ninth Wave, an 1850 painting by Russian marine artist Ivan Aivazovsky depicting sailors clinging to the mast of a submerged ship after a violent sea storm. In this song the line is used within a sci-fi context.
    The lyric might also be referring to these lines from Alfred, Lord Tennyson's, The Coming of Arthur:
    Wave after wave, each mightier than the last
    Til last, a ninth one, gathering half the deep
    And full of voices, slowly rose and plunged
    Roaring, and all the wave was in flame.

    Incidentally, the second side of Kate Bush's 1985 album Hounds of Love is entitled "The Ninth Wave," from Tennyson's poem.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Harry Shearer

Harry ShearerSongwriter Interviews

Harry is Derek Smalls in Spinal Tap, Mark Shubb in The Folksmen, and Mr. Burns on The Simpsons.

Glen Burtnik

Glen BurtnikSongwriter Interviews

On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence Clearwater RevivalFact or Fiction

Is "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" about Vietnam? Was John Fogerty really born on a Bayou? It's the CCR edition of Fact or Fiction.

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' Albums

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' AlbumsSong Writing

With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")Songwriter Interviews

Phil was a songwriter, producer and voice behind many Philadelphia soul classics. When disco hit, he got an interesting project: The Village People.

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)Songwriter Interviews

Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.