Rating:
* * *
Here's a question: How many indie electro rockers with a burning penchant for the 80s is London harbouring? Every week there seems to be another record from "a much-hyped" band that fails to live up to the so-called hype. They're not bad, they're just nothing special.
Twenty One
- the sophomore album from London outfit Mystery Jets - comes perilously close to being one of those records. As an air raid warning sounds, before the thick, fuzzy bassline of
Hideaway
kicks in, it seems you are destined to listen to yet another hour of listless art school pop.
The bland melody of
Young Love
is obviously intended as a radio hit, but is completely devoid of any hooks or riffs, while
MJ
is a tuneless 80s tribute that tries - and fails - to put a modern spin on old sounds.
It would all add up to a rather dismal excuse for a record were there not some key redeeming features. The melancholic melody of
Flakes
is gloriously irresistible, while the tin can beat and piano of
Umbrellahead
plays as a clever White Stripes tribute.
Joanna Hunkin
New York Times: Sobbing in the movie theatre? You’re not alone.