Opposite every pop group supported by marketing formulas is a band that mocks all unwritten laws. Mystery Jets hails from tiny South London's Eel Pie Island, safely cut off from the big city music industry. Most notable group member is the gray-crested guitarist Henry Harrison, the father of singer Blaine. And that's so uncool that it's going to be cool again. Musically it goes in all directions,
… although British pop history remains the most important frame of reference. They go back to punk pop groups like The Undertones (You Can't Fool Me Dennis), psychedelic folk (Little Bag Of Hair) and straight forward prog rock (Diamonds In The Dark). The cheerful pop feeling that the group radiates is performed here with a lot more depth than usual, with Blaine's fierce pinch vocals (best comparable to Supergrass's Gaz Coombs) as the main constant. The debut of Mystery Jets is yet another proof that the English indie pop is on a major revival in the mid-noughties. (MS)more