Featured Artist: Mystery Jets

The problem with dreams/ they're not what they seem/ cause when you're awake/ they fall through your fingers in flakes.

A surprisingly deep lyric, coming from, when you put it simply, a pop band. The band is called Mystery Jets.

I feel a bit mean when I refer to them as just another pop band, when clearly they are a bit better than that. Their unique mix of 80's Pop, Punk and Rock make them one of a kind on today’s charts.

The afore mentioned lyric, is from my favourite of their songs, Flakes. Flakes is a melodic ode to
lost love spoken in a way that teenagers can relate to. When you listen to the Mystery Jets back
catalogue, Flakes really stands out as one of the better songs. It has relatable lyrics, a simple and effective tune and, most importantly, meaning. It isn’t a sappy ballad nor is it an overproduced last ditch effort for fame.

Young Love is another great song of theirs. It is the complete polar opposite of Flakes, its light and its catchy. The exact type of song that should catapault then into super group status. It has a distinctively 80's feel, and with the duet vocals by Laura Marling, the song, reminds me of Homecoming by the Teenagers, as it has the same two-sided lyrical style. The lyrics themselves are simple and not at all false or contrived. Marling really contrasts the Mystery Jets style, and really brings something magical to the song.

Though Mystery Jets have written some amazing music, they aren’t without their faults. Some of their songs do begin to get a bit boring, a bit contrived and a little too 'Poppy'. One of their worse songs would be Lizzie's Lion. It isn't really a bad song in itself, but when you listen to their other music, you tend to forget about it. The lyrics don't really mean much as it is a bit of a novelty song.

Mystery Jets have been criticized for 'picking up on the fact that that late '80s is the flavour of the Month' but I really disagree. Although their second album is definitely different to the first, and it does have songs with an '80s vibe, that's not the way most of their other songs are. They write songs with a more Indie feel and fantastic melodic tunes, just like Flakes and Veiled in Grey.

So Kudos to you Mystery Jets with your guitars and drums and other musical things, you have
managed to create a fantastic song.

x

FYI: Mystery Jets are touring down under in Melb and Syd in January.
for more information, go to www.myspace.com/mysteryjets