Mystery Jets

After waiting for two trains that were cancelled, and then boarding a packed tram to get to Mama Roux’s, I came to the realisation that Britain just cannot function properly whenever the weather exceeds 20 degrees. However, once I arrived at Digbeth’s music venue, Blaine Harrison and co of Mystery Jets completely disproved this. Despite it being one of the hottest days of the year, the band blew the crowd away with an upbeat set of songs from their forthcoming studio album, paired with some golden oldies (in boiler suits, may I add!).

With eight days to go until the release of A Hole To See The Sky Through, the band have been on a run of in-store shows and signings, arriving here at one of Birmingham’s most intimate venues. The interior of Mama Roux’s is scattered with shutters and windows, creating a homely feel that added to the level of personality and closeness of Mystery Jets’ performance: they weren’t playing to a crowd, they were playing to each and every audience member, drawing them in immediately.

A Hole To See The Sky Through was named after Yoko Ono’s conceptual artwork of the same name, a piece of card with a hole in it, inviting viewers to engage with the sky. Ono even granted special permission for the band to feature this piece on their album cover — rather fitting after the solar eclipse, no? 

At an early 8pm start, the band opened with ‘Serotonin’, a fast-moving, catchy number, embodying the prime sound of UK indie music in the 2010s. From this beginning, it was clear that the Digbeth audience were in for an engaging performance full of eccentric, energetic and exciting music.

Throughout the set, the tone mellowed a couple of times, including during ‘Doomsday Waltz’, a song not yet released from their forthcoming album. It follows a couple playing a song as the world ends, and although it circles the theme of impending doom it keeps the warm undertones that drive the love story to its finish – rather ironic to hear in the middle of the country’s hottest heatwave. ‘Soul River’, another track from A Hole To See The Sky Through, followed this mellower direction and was a highlight of the set. The lighting changed to a simple warmth to put Harrison’s vocals at the forefront. Guitarist Ollie Taylor’s solo certainly enhanced this, followed by a final key change at the end of the song. You could have heard a pin drop once the song ended, before the room burst into cheers and applause.

After this, the band reignited a buoyant atmosphere as Harrison described a new way of performing their 2008 hit ‘Young Love’. They offered a female audience member the chance to join them onstage to sing Laura Marling’s part and the closing chorus, and although many hands shot up, attention was drawn to one woman in particular: fan Harriet, who initially gestured “so-so” when Harrison asked, “Can you sing?” — then gave a performance on par with Marling’s own. This level of audience interaction and participation is not something you see often with musicians at concerts, but was certainly a highlight for me, and you could see it definitely has created a brilliant memory for Harriet.

Following straight after, the band played their best-known song, ‘Two Doors Down’. The entire crowd raced straight to the barrier and erupted in dancing and belting lyrics, clearly having the time of their lives. To close, Mystery Jets played ‘Someone Purer’, with the repetitive “woah-oh-ohs” echoing throughout the venue. You could tell no one in the room wanted the set to end, and I myself could have happily watched another hour of the set.

Despite only playing for 60 minutes, Mystery Jets found something to suit every audience member. They have made it apparent that the indie rock sound that ran through the 2000s and 2010s is timeless, shown through the crowd’s demographic. And finally, they have created real anticipation for the release of ‘A Hole To See The Sky Through’, which releases on 21 August.