Reviewed on 26th May 2005.

The Mystery Jets

Live at The Vine on Monday, 23rd May 2005

To say that I was a fan of Napoleon IIIrd would be a severe understatement; this so called low-fi wizard of leftfield rock is about as appealing as leprosy and manages to push the crowd to the recesses of the dingy corners of the bar for salvation. Enough said.

The red and black attack that are This Et Al still prove time and time again why they are one of the bright lights of hope in a world saturated with disco pop indie rock. Their blend of raw vocals galvanized with Mogwai-esque theatrics and drumming that's tighter than an indie kid's pair of jeans are a breathe of fresh air, using the term very loosely as the air is thick as stodgy custard in The Vine tonight, but with music like this it's a relief to know the local circuit is alive and well.

Armed with songs about the Egyptian tourist trade and boys dressing like girls dressing like boys... and the full back catalogue of scrapheap challenge tonight's headliners could only be the illustrious The Mystery Jets, who have come a long way since the gig last September supporting Bloc Party, but they're still bloody weird.

With two drummers, one of which is the lead singer with a strange resemblance to Edward Scissor Hands and a guitarist who's also the singer's dad, new fashion trend perhaps? The Mystery Jets take off with Zoo Time and the band excel into a frenzy of psychedelic country, electronica noise - errrrr I don't really know what to compare them to; there are no bands nor any genre of music out there that come close to paralleling their sound but it rocks.

The Mystery Jets are not those for the faint of heart or those with a nervous disposition; the lead singer sits on his drum kit throne that is comprised of the contents of a local junk yard whilst he abuses his junk with the ferocity of Man Utd fans after the FA Cup Final as shards of metal fly into the crowd.

Alas Agnes is a crowd pleaser with the set kicking into overtime with a song that grabs you by the nuts and swings you from a great height.

At times though you may be forgiven to think that the set is pretentious and over calculated and some of the longer songs drag by their heels a bit but The Mystery Jets are the sort of band that can push the boundaries far enough to make you think "this is twisted" but the fact is there are no bands out there like these guys and nobody is deranged enough to produce music of this calibre except The Mystery Jets.