Mystery Jets are go!
“Who’s that old guy?”
Barry tells us about the Mystery Jets latest album.
Twenty One is the second album from London band Mystery Jets. This time around it sees them meet some of the potential touted a few years back, after what I felt was an ambitious but ultimately patchy debut in Making Dens.
This time around, with the help of producer/DJ Erol Alkan, the results are a lot more coherent and tight while still maintaining their eccentricity and peculiarity. It is not easy to pigeon hole them into what has become a fairly bland UK indie scene with most bands sounding like bad tributes to the Libertines and Arctic Monkeys. Their wide range of influences are evident but never allows one to take over and bind them. There are many instantly catchy tunes such as ‘Young Love’ with folk singer Laura Marling which means it’s easy to get into this one.
The album manages to do this without being too commercial (what ever the fuck that means). This is accompanied by more eccentric songs like ‘Umbrellahead’ & ‘Veiled in Grey’ but things never feel out of place. The only song I have reservations about is ‘Two Doors Down’ only for its ’80s synths, but that’s another issue between me and the 80’s. Overall this is an excellent, cheery and quite laid back album, which sees lead singer Blaine’s distinctive and emotive vocals triumph alongside the band’s often bizarre music. This will be a perfect soundtrack if we get a summer this year, and if not its still well worth a listen.
Cheers to Nialler again for letting me on his electronic soap box again and enjoy the tunes.
Mystery Jets – Young Love (featuring Laura Marling)
[Buy Twenty One – Amazon | iTunes ]
