Mystery Jets - Night & Day - 13/04/08 by Richard Graham

Mystery Jets entered the British music scene in 2006 with their debut album ‘Making Dens’. Despite being no masterpiece, the hybrid of pop, folk, indie and psychedelia quickly resulted in a devoted fanbase. Two years later, with plenty to prove, they returned with a sophomore album (‘Twenty One’) that has been described as ‘an awe-inspiring collection of oddball pop songs’.

Obviously this recognition has done them no harm and a sell-out gig welcomed them to the stage of the Night & Day. Made up of predominantly students the hot and sweaty venue was warned of their impending entrance by no less than a Public Enemy style air raid siren. Taking to the stage first a limping Blaine Harrison (lead vocals/keys/guitar) led his band on using crutches and they launched into the first track ‘Hideaway’.

Moving rapidly on to the current single ‘Young Love’ (originally a duet with Laura Marling) the audience lapped it up and sang-along unashamedly to the radio friendly indie-pop. Never straying too far from the formula of catchy psychedlic-pop/punk mixed with indie anthems they certainly proved they knew how to entertain.

Heavily 80’s influenced (the aforementioned singer had apparently borrowed Robert Smiths hair) and seemingly enjoying every minute they quickly arrived at the encore, which they led us into with the superb ‘Behind the Bunhouse’. Sounding like a hybrid between The Coral, an Irish sing-a-long and The Smiths it was rousing to say the least and needless to say they were resoundingly asked back onto the stage, where they wrapped up with an older track ‘The Boy Who Ran Away’.

Now let’s get this straight, this reviewer will admit he’s not, or wasn’t a huge fan of Mystery Jets. Cynical to the end (under the illusion they were just ‘another NME fad’) they needed to impress and by the looks of the smiling faces (including this reviewers) they had managed it with much aplomb.