Headphone Highlights

Mystery Jets

Rough Trade, London

Hailing from Eel Pie Island, an island on London's River Thames, Mystery Jets are not your usual indie line up. The band, formed in 2005, includes lead singer Blaine's dad, Henry Harrison, and they name Syd Barrett as one of their biggest influences. Their debut album, 'Making Dens', was a waywardly chaotic take on indie with tracks like 'Can't Fool Me Dennis' and 'Zoo Time', their first proper single. This was also accompanied by regular illegal parties called The White Cross Revival at their Eel Pie Island base camp, which attracted huge crowds before being shut down by the police. The band took a left turn with their second album 'Twenty One' produced by Erol Alkan. It traded in some of their psychedelic influences for glossy, sort of eighties influenced pop sounds, including a collaboration with folk singer Laura Marling on 'Young Love'. The follow up 'Serotonin' was released on Rough Trade in 2010. It saw the band working with producer Chris Thomas, famed for working with The Beatles and Roxy Music and producing The Sex Pistols infamous 'Never Mind The Bollocks' album. So far Mystery Jets have alluded to many musical genres in their music without being held to any. In this show they share some of their diverse influences and some of the newer tracks they are feeling.