“Mystery Planes” are a four piece indie rock band from Twickenham, London. They formed before 2005 and currently consist of Blaine Harrison (vocals, keyboards and percussion), William Rees (guitar, percussion, keyboards and vocals), Kai Fish (bass, guitar and vocals), Kapil Trivedi (drums). Mystery Jets also have an additional member, Henry Harrison.
Twenty One receives us with an opener “Hiding place”. It starts with some sirens, as if some houses or buildings were on fire and waiting for the arrival of the Firemen. Before long, the bass simply arrives with a lazy, dragging sound along with steady drum beats. It also has that disco feeling to it. Blaine first assumes the vocals until he gets to a part where the Mystery Jets simply sing along in a lower pitched voice: “Undercover lover, you pulled a record from the stack. Undercover lover, you left your parka on the shelf. Undercover lover , left the track.” on the floor…” After that, they do chorus again and say: “Hideaway, hideaway….Oh…” Mystery Jets already made me sing and ask for more, really good here…
Mystery Jets then put their magic keys “Young love” with the help of singer Laura Marling. She has distant percussion at first and is joined shortly thereafter by somewhat catchy bass. In Young Love, I can also hear that Mystery Jets are taking vocals together again. They continue with some really witty lyrics: “If I only knew your name I’d go door to door, searching all the crowded streets for the face I once saw, if I only knew your name I’d go door to door.” door to door, tell me, have you seen the girl I only met once before…” As the chorus arrives, they just have fun and some members of the Mystery Jets do some choruses. On the bridge, Young Love transitions to another level with the voice of Laura Marling. It’s one of the best moments on the track. It’s magically fun here, and also addictive. Enjoy! What a fun song that Mystery Jets can’t help but sing together!
“Half in Love with Elizabeth” already surprises us with the chorus at the beginning. In the verse where Blaine sings, the bass seems to work really well with him. Not only that, the Mystery Jets backing vocals also add some extra spice to Blaine’s voice. On the bridge, Mystery Jets bring in some Making Dens moments with the backing vocals as Blaine says, “The Bubble will burst…” I like how they blend into the verse, it sounds really catchy there.
“flakes” slows down the tempo in Twenty One. Flakes shows Blaine’s voice most of the time. He seems to drown out the music every time Blaine raises his singing pitch in each final paragraph. Climbing onto the bridge and breaking, the Mystery Jets come together and harmonize their voices with some beautiful howls. Flakes contains some really good Mystery Jets vocal pieces. I’m slowly falling in love with Flakes on Twenty One.
“Veiled in Grey” it really contains some light and catchy guitar strums. Like Flakes, in each final paragraph, Blaine leaves a very catchy sonic piece that sounds very good to our ears. He seems to be able to twist words however he likes effortlessly. As this song builds, it gets to a point where all the music takes another turn and Blaine says, “I bet you wouldn’t believe me if I whispered in your ear and said I can see a pink elephant.” corner of the bed, you’ll just smile and roll your eyes…” The music that follows after this picks up, indicating that Mystery Jets has reached its climax. in Veil of Grey. If you like this part, now you will surely have to wait until the amazing ending!
“Two Doors Down” your curiosity is heightened once he enters the verse with Blaine’s voice. When you get to the part before the chorus, the music and the rhythm take you to another area. You would now be moving your body or nodding your head. In the chorus, Blaine simply says, “I know I’m in love, with a girl who lives…” while the remaining Mystery Jets members simply pitched in and sang “Two Doors Down…”. The music in the choir also creates a great impact with the guitar and keyboard pitch. Two Doors Down takes me back to the 80’s, or even the 60’s. Even Saxaphone can be heard here! This track is really something!
“GM” It begins with Mystery Jets saying, “Don’t tell anyone…” He sounds very serious with his tone of voice. The music on this track is very rhythmic with a start/stop influence. In the chorus, Blaine is greatly helped by the members of the Mystery Jets. He would sing a prayer, then the remaining Mystery Jets members would follow up with “What we’ve got going on…”. They complement each other very evenly. Bottom bass is also worth mentioning. In general, the whole track is very cheeky and wonderful. I love the start/stop elements!
“Umbrella Front” starts with piano and keyboards. Gives an acoustic impression at first. As Blaine sings, both the piano and keyboards continue to play in the background. In the verse, you’ll find Blaine singing to add to the momentum of the track. Once he gets to the chorus, Blaine says, “Please don’t make me a man, ’cause I don’t want my skin to fold, oh please won’t you keep me the way I am? Oh, people look so lonely.” when you are old…” There is also horn in the second chorus at the end. It seems that the Mystery Jets do not want to grow old. And it surely is a good thing for us!
“Give me up” it has a very catchy bass line right from the start. Mystery Jets are having a great time on this track. Even Blaine’s voice manages to deliver here, though he’s not really suited to singing that tune. I mean it’s better doing a ballad like Flakes. In the chorus, Blaine can be heard singing in a very catchy way. When Mystery Jets says, “Do you love him…?” Blaine will just add a robotic voice like a ball bouncing left and right off the walls, “Maybe you will, maybe you won’t, maybe you will but maybe you won’t…” It’s simple but just plain catchy. ! And the bass and guitar also stand out on Hand Me Down! Wonderfully impressive! Try it!
I like the opening of “First to Know”. The guitar and bass create their own sound, especially the guitar which is somewhat echoic at first. In the verse, Blaine sings in a voice that indicates he might be tired from singing. But still, he sounds good. When it comes to the chorus, the Mystery Jets just get together again and sing, “The first to know…” on repeat. Every time the music brings back the echoic guitar that we first heard at the beginning, we would know that something is about to happen. First To Know also contains some loud guitar work that we rarely hear from Mystery Jets. I really like!
Mystery Jets end Twenty One with “Behind the Bunhouse”. It is a track that is longer than 12 minutes as it contains a hidden track “Twenty One”. In Behind The Bunhouse, it begins with the sound of a TV having lost reception. It is soon followed by a high-pitched sound that I strongly believe is created by synths. In the verse, the music continues like this while Blaine sings. Upon reaching the chorus, the music begins to sound louder and fuller with the guitar. Blaine can be heard singing slowly, “But honey, why did you go behind the bunhouse? Didn’t you know how much I had to give? You hit me over the head with a rolling pin, and then you ducked and kicked me.” me in the ribs…” As the second verse starts, the whole track picks up the tempo, the drums kick in to help add extra weight too. Beautiful track here! The hidden track, which is also the title track “Twenty One” , starts at about 7 minutes 35 seconds. The piano can be heard playing once it starts after a period of silence. Blaine continues to sing while the piano continues to play in the background. It takes a while to grow on this track. Really It’s a surprise as I wasn’t expecting a hidden track. However, Blaine’s voice seems to be able to create a surrounding wall of sound. Imagine how much effort he puts into singing this song. My respects to you, Blaine.
