The Noisettes and Mystery Jets: Mercury Lounge Review

What comes to mind when I think of last night is a British aphorism, "It's a funny old world."

I posted yesterday that I was going to see the Noisettes and Mystery Jets at Mercury. I thought, bugger I'm going to have to go alone but it just so happened that the divine Miss M was going as well so we met up. We surprised Shawn from Universal by arriving together but really, the music blogosphere is just one big incestuous family.


First up were the Noisettes. Skye wrote a review of their music not too long ago and talked about their thrash metal skills. Well, they did exactly that in person. The lead singer and bassist, Shingai, spared no time in getting down and dirty on stage. She started the show by taking off her shoes and banging them on the mic. She then proceeded to dance, kick, wrap her leg around the guitar handle and balance her foot on a member of the audience. It was brilliant.



Besides her antics, Shingai's voice is completely mesmerizing as well. It's as if Ella Fitzgerald and Karan (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) O got together and had a love child. It succeeds in making their music so distinct that when it was all over, I just wanted to hear more. Someone actually whispered in my ear during one of the songs, 'It's like nothing I've ever heard before.'


Not to be overshadowed by the antics of Shingai, the other members got down and got with it as well- especially the drummer Jamie. I couldn't get a clear picture of him because he wasn't just playing with his arms, he was playing with his whole body, including that mass of hair. After the set was through, he stood up, out of breath, threw his sticks on the ground and walked right off stage.


Little was exchanged between the band and the audience beside "Hey, we're the Noisettes." Though they did proclaim themselves to be from Athens, Georgia (they're actually from London). They are the second band British band I've seen on that stage to proclaim themselves to be from the south and I have no clue why.


From the above, it might seem as if they are this hardcore band but really, they came off as an endearing bunch of kids with a lot of passion. The guitarist Dan still had the tag on his brand new pair of diesel jeans, Jamie, the drummer, had on a Cyclones t-shirt and they were all still wearing their SXSW bands- obviously still basking in the excitement of touring America and being in New York. This is definitely a band to keep an eye on and an ear out for.


Next up was the buzz band, Mystery Jets. Even those other kings of buzz, Arctic Monkeys, came out to see them last night. Chris over at Music Snobbery has a lot nicer things to say about them then I am about to so you might want to check him out for another opinion. On the other hand, Miss Modern Age has a lot more worse things to say then I am, so there you go.


You might be looking at that first colour picture and asking yourself, what is with the old guy? Well that's Blaine's dad, Henry. Apparently they were looking for someone to play guitar and Blaine said, 'Well, my dad can.' One of my parents wouldn't be the first choice if I was going to tour around America, drink as much beer as possible and mac on groupies. Maybe he's one of those 'cool dads.'


The problem that I have with Mystery Jets is that their music has no direction. It's more noise then music. There are some great part, I mean who doesn't love a cowbell, but overall I left with a feeling of- what was that? Unfortunately, despite the use of pots and pans, they failed to make an impression on me. That being said, they do have one really great song, 'The Boy Who Went Away.' It's clean, fun and has a great beat.


You can check out Mystery Jets on their MySpace including the song 'The Boy Who Went Away'
And make sure to head over to the Noisettes MySpace. 'Don't Give Up' is an especially good track.