- Audio CD (6 Mar 2006)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: 679 RECORDINGS
- ASIN: B000EMI6SM
- Other Editions: Audio CD | MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 36,727 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I chanced across The Mystery Jets playing 'Zootime' live on MTV2 and were blown away by their brilliance -- they must have one of the best drummers in contemporary music at the moment. Yes, they are an odd assortment of individuals, and it must make life interesting having your dad in the band ... but they make brilliant music. It's not really what I would call progressive rock -- and I grew up with Yes, Genesis, and the prog canon -- but they have prog leanings and an inventive intelligence which makes them much more interesting than the usual 'verse-chorus-middle 8-chorus' format that most bands adopt. They have a pop sensibility I last heard in the 80s with It Bites, although musically they're less glitzy than Cumbrias finest and they have managed to perfect a mainstream quirkiness which makes them listenable again and again. The highlights for me are 'Purple Prose', 'Horse Draw Cart' and 'Zootime'. For a band with bags of intelligence, talent, and a commitment to writing songs with musical substance, turn to The Mystery Jets. Great stuff.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I only recently bought this album after reading a lot of the press about this band. Heck, any band with their dad in it has to be worth a listen (I'm a 50 year old dad myself that still plays at being in bands....). All the talk of being "prog" is really weird, because the MJs sound very unlike much prog I have heard. The only track that has vague hints of King Crimson is Zootime, apart from that the closest references I can come up with are XTC meets Syd Barrett-era Floyd. Eclectic, eccentric, whimsical and very English in just the way that XTC were. They also share much of the layered and angular guitar work that typifies XTC's later work (I'm listening to "Love On A Farmboy's Wages" as I type this and it's quite reminiscent of much of the feel of this album).
This album is full of quirky, loveable and different songs, with some lovely layered harmonies. Stand out tracks for me are "You Can't Fool Me Dennis" (irresistible from the first few notes, truly a modern Arnold Layne as others have said), "Purple Prose" (great guitar work, I completely disagree with the reviewer that said it wasn't memorable), "The Boy Who Ran Away" (a very non-traditional approach to song structure that works well), "Horse Drawn Cart" (beautiful harmonies and a whimsical approach worthy of XTC) and "Little Bag Of Hair" (a real grower that has heartfelt poignancy in the lyrics).
Good tracks are "Zootime" (which is a prog-esque mainly instrumental that is a grower) and "Diamonds in the Dark". The let downs for me which lose it a star are "Alas Agnes", which tries so hard to be quirky and different that it fails on all levels (I bet they started with the title and tried to write the song around it...), "Soluble In Air" (unoffensive filler) and "Making Dens" ( meanders too much and doesn't really get anywhere). But overall a really enjoyable album that shows tremendous promise. These guys sound like they are having fun, and that matters. I recommend you buy it and watch what the MJs do in future.
This album is full of quirky, loveable and different songs, with some lovely layered harmonies. Stand out tracks for me are "You Can't Fool Me Dennis" (irresistible from the first few notes, truly a modern Arnold Layne as others have said), "Purple Prose" (great guitar work, I completely disagree with the reviewer that said it wasn't memorable), "The Boy Who Ran Away" (a very non-traditional approach to song structure that works well), "Horse Drawn Cart" (beautiful harmonies and a whimsical approach worthy of XTC) and "Little Bag Of Hair" (a real grower that has heartfelt poignancy in the lyrics).
Good tracks are "Zootime" (which is a prog-esque mainly instrumental that is a grower) and "Diamonds in the Dark". The let downs for me which lose it a star are "Alas Agnes", which tries so hard to be quirky and different that it fails on all levels (I bet they started with the title and tried to write the song around it...), "Soluble In Air" (unoffensive filler) and "Making Dens" ( meanders too much and doesn't really get anywhere). But overall a really enjoyable album that shows tremendous promise. These guys sound like they are having fun, and that matters. I recommend you buy it and watch what the MJs do in future.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Anybody with half an eye on the indie scene of late will have noticed the similarity of most bands - they look the same, they sound the same. It makes for very dull listening.
Luckily for us, along came the Mystery Jets. They certainly look eccentric - a fact which seems to be discussed by reviewers considerably more than what they actually sound like. Which is a terrible shame, because their music is quite unlike anything you've ever heard.
Having heard several of the Mystery Jets' singles before the release of the album, I was intrigued to say the least. I expected the album to be an assortment of jangley, interesting little tunes thrown together in an ameteurish fashion - but in fact it is much more than that.
The songs range widely across the musical spectrum - from the fresh and catchy 'Alas Agnes', the proggy guitar driven 'Zoo Time' to the sad rolling epic of 'Little Bag of Hair'. Each song works on its own, but everything is presented in its best light as a whole album. It flows beautifully, a quality which is very rare among debuts. It is filled to the brim with instrumental genious and soaring tunes that will refuse to leave your head for weeks. The Mystery Jets have taken the prog format of ever changing melodies and compressed it down into small, perfectly formed chunks of musical brilliance. Catchy and thoughtful, small but monumental, this album is quietly breaking the boundries or modern music. It can't be long before people start to notice.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A great and quirky album
This album has an interesting and unparallelled sound, a great album from a great artist!
Published 19 months ago by R. Fletcher
Inspirational
The most amazing thing i hav ever heard, they are a serious inspiration, i wish there were 6 stars.
They have to grow on you, at first i thought what is this crazy... Read more
They have to grow on you, at first i thought what is this crazy... Read more
Published on 5 Feb 2007 by A. Hoad
Poor
I bought You can't fool me Dennis on single - it is brilliant. I thought they might be the next big thing. Read more
Published on 6 April 2006 by Billy No mates
Stunning Debut
I heard a few of their tracks before i saw them live at the NME tour, and the album definitley lives up to everything i heard live. Read more
Published on 15 Mar 2006 by Luke Griffin
The Band That Ran Away
There's something to be said about looking, and sounding, like four anonymous blokes from Sheffield; it means that people will pay a lot more attention to your music than your... Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2006 by "parsefone"
who says modern music is dead?
This band shows that there is still a chance for original and interesting pop/indie music to arrive in this day and age. Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2006 by P. Moan
great album... promising future
I bought this album on the strength of "Alas Agnes" and "Zoo time" and was not dissapointed. The album flows really well and is much more easy-listening than i thought it would be. Read more
Published on 9 Mar 2006 by Mr. M. D. Mccutcheon
This Album is amazing
even if youve never heard of mystery jets this album is still a must to be in your album collection. Read more
Published on 9 Mar 2006 by "josh2191"
shape of things to come!
Ok,no "On my Feet",which was the first Mystery Jets track i heard ,but the rest of the singles are all present and correct. Read more
Published on 7 Mar 2006 by Colin Smith
This Album Will Be Great
This album will easily be the best of 2006,it will make the arctic monkeys look like the others in comparison,the mystery jets were my favourite new band of last year and look like... Read more
Published on 13 Feb 2006 by Alessandro Thomas
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