Mystery Jets – Curve of the Earth

Indie Rock | Progressive Rock

83%

We live in the era of Indie, and as such there’s a wide range to choose from. Many bands though are sadly rather uninspired and release what is essentially the same material over and over until the band just fizzles out (*cough* The Strokes *cough*). London band Mystery Jets have always tried to strive for something new. Not all of their experiments are successful, but to their credit they are a band that never sits still. On their latest album their mission is to go all astronomical, filling the tracks with space references and equally out of this world flashes of prog. They have an experimental yet accessible sound that at times, such as the piano driven ‘1985’, reminds me of ELO.

At only 9 tracks they have condensed the album down to the bare essentials. Curve of the Earth is a consistently good album that has so much going on that all fits together as part of an incredible journey. ‘Midnight’s Mirror’ has psychedelic hints of The Flaming Lips, ‘Taken By The Tide’ has great light and shade between the gentle verses and the chunky chorus riffs and the sublime ‘Saturnine’ features a Pink Floyd-esque guitar solo as it’s centrepiece. However the standout track is ‘Bubblegum’ which brings everything together in the form of a flawless hit. Mystery Jets haven’t quite gone stratospheric with Curve of the Earth, but they are certainly soaring high enough to give most bands something to aspire to.