Mystery Jets - Twenty One

MYSTERY JETS
Twenty One

Mystery Jets are clearly trying to shift their oddball image. Lead singer Blaine Harrison’s Dad is no longer a full-time member of the band and their second long-player sees them step away from obscure lyrics and prog influences to create an album of fairly straightforward indie-pop.

After the fuzzy synths of opener Hideaway have clearly indicated producer Erol Alkan’s distinctive stamp on this sophomore record, the newfound pop sensibilities of the English band shine through with Young Love. With its sweet, naïve optimism, it is a delicious love song which highlights all that is good about Mystery Jets, and it could not have a better guest vocalist than the delightful Laura Marling. Continuing with the breeziness of this standout track, Half In Love With Elizabeth is a similarly catchy tune with a rousing chorus and the perky MJ gives a massive nod to The Police’s Don’t Stand So Close To Me.

Sometimes things aren’t so well judged though. Two Doors Down is cute, but its production is so ridiculously glimmering with 80s gloss that it borders on parody. Elsewhere, the plinky-plonky Umbrellahead is a bit too ramshackle compared to the shiny pop which precedes it and Veiled In Grey’s lyrics about pink elephants edge towards vague incomprehensibility. While these moments show signs of a band that has still to completely shake off the overtly eclectic nature of its debut, such eccentricities also serve to define what Mystery Jets are all about, and this sweet, sanguine record sees them easing towards the mainstream while still retaining their personality and kookiness.