Mystery Jets have produced some of the best indie-pop since the 90s, and their first two albums completely raised the stakes for other bands. But what is this? A third album? Ooh, thought MJ fans, looks promising. If the Mystery Jets were going to slip up on a record, surely it would be that difficult second album. Personally, I was not concerned that this album would be a flop until a friend of mine, who had found the album online, told me it was ‘generic indie shit’. Truth be told, he was pretty right.
The band seems to have taken a masterclass in ‘how to write a ballad’. The opener, Alice Springs, is so heavy in epic drums and catchy lyrics that is borders on a U2 or Coldplay-esque hit. The usual simple poetry in the Mystery Jets’ lyrics is drowned in easy-listening riffs and catchy song structure, and most songs lack significance. ‘Dreaming of Another World’, ‘Serotonin’, ‘the Girl is Gone’ and ‘Too Late to Talk’ are equally disappointing, and barely listenable.
It’s possible you might enjoy this dire record if you like easy listening ‘indie’, or have never really paid attention to the band before. It might even be bearable to put on as background music, if you can ignore the cheesy, repetitive lyrics and general boring performance on this album. I can only guess this record will be loved by Radio 1 and people who claim to like ‘new/underground/upcoming music’ (congrats on finding a ‘new’ band, since they’ve just produced their third album). Oh, and possibly middle aged men who like to pretend to be ‘down with the kids’, especially because some songs have a sort of failed 80s vibe. He’ll say ‘hey, they don’t often make ‘em like this any more’. Yeah, and I should bloody hope they never make ‘em like this again.
If you have to listen to anything off this album, I suggest the following tracks.
Flash a Hungry Smile
Melt
SATS rating: 4/10
The fact is, the album stroke a good chord with reviewers like BBC and NME. However, it was a distaste to the original Mystery Jets 'fanbase' including myself who overplayed 21 and Making Dens too much to count in the Summer of 08. The bottom line is that the Mystery Jets change every album
ReplyDeleteIts like a chameleon on crack cocaine but I'm not a fan of the inconsistency. If you have a sound, stick to it. Dont go from 'the boys' to '80's rockers' to now a 'everything must be white' phase.
For me, You cant fool me dennis kills the whole new album. Boring, tasteless and forgetful