New Prog and the Mystery Jets

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The Times published this article back in January: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,22875-2007511,00.html

The article extensively refers to a band called 'Mystery Jets'. Does anyone know anything about this band? Or is this just the media getting it horribly wrong? There are some sample tracks here: http://www.myspace.com/mysteryjets

The band don't sound particularly progressive to me. The plot thickened when I looked up 'New Prog' on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Prog. The encyclopaedic entry refers to the Mystery Jets along with Pure Reason Revolution and The Mars Volta, both very progressive bands, but also mentions bands like Muse and The Cooper Temple Clause.

So does anybody have any experience with the Mystery Jets? Are they remotely progressive? And why does Wikipedia say that Pure Reason Revolution are "indie...incorporat(ing) elements from... progressive rock"?

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Notch Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Groupie Joined: November 24 2005 Status: Offline Points: 43	Topic: New Prog and the Mystery Jets Posted: June 14 2006 at 17:13
	The Times published this article back in January: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,22875-2007511,00.html The article extensively refers to a band called 'Mystery Jets'. Does anyone know anything about this band? Or is this just the media getting it horribly wrong? There are some sample tracks here: http://www.myspace.com/mysteryjets The band don't sound particularly progressive to me. The plot thickened when I looked up 'New Prog' on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Prog. The encyclopaedic entry refers to the Mystery Jets along with Pure Reason Revolution and The Mars Volta, both very progressive bands, but also mentions bands like Muse and The Cooper Temple Clause. So does anybody have any experience with the Mystery Jets? Are they remotely progressive? And why does Wikipedia say that Pure Reason Revolution are "indie...incorporat(ing) elements from... progressive rock"?

Teaflax Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: June 26 2005 Status: Offline Points: 1225	Posted: June 14 2006 at 19:03
	I heard the Mystery Jets album, and there's not a hint of Prog in it, except maybe....maybe in some instrumentation. But neither compositions, structures or playing bears any relation even tangentially to Prog. It was so dismal I got rid of it the very same day.


Notch Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Groupie Joined: November 24 2005 Status: Offline Points: 43	Posted: June 15 2006 at 05:05
	So about as prog as the Arctic Monkeys then... (The first 30 seconds of 'I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor' are very prog(!)) Ah well, at least it's a step in the right direction

Teaflax Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: June 26 2005 Status: Offline Points: 1225	Posted: June 15 2006 at 05:17
	The Arctic Monkeys' new single...the name eludes me, has a fairly Proggy structure for an Indie Pop song; lots of different bits arranged in a non-traditional way. The bits themselves are, however, rather unremarkable. But Post Prog is a good term from the Wikipedia article.


salmacis Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Content Addition Joined: April 10 2005 Status: Offline Points: 3928	Posted: June 15 2006 at 08:17
	Hmmm....so much has been made of how The Mystery Jets are prog of late. I think I have some kind of knowledge of them as I have their album and saw them live a few weeks back. There is a prog undertone to their music- 'Zoo Time' is a very progressive instrumental with a fiddly time signature and some neat guitar/synth work that sounds slightly like Faust or Can. That track is progressive for sure, as is the (non album) 10 minute epic 'Moonlight Satellite' (which they didn't play live) that comes on like King Crimson/Pink Floyd yet with a 'Listen to the Flower People' type groove that makes it a bit silly at times. However, that song is also prog. There was even a drum solo when I saw them live! Yet, most of their songs are not prog, really. They do have some slightly unusual time signatures on singles like 'The Boy Who Ran Away' and 'You Can't Fool Me Dennis', plus a folk influence is very evident on 'Little Bag Of Hair' and 'Horse Drawn Cart', but really I'd say XTC come to mind on those singles I mention- and XTC weren't what I'd have called prog. Indeed, it's a pretty patchy album as the band don't seem to know what direction they want to head in to these ears. So whilst the band themselves often discuss their love of prog, particularly Caravan, Yes, King Crimson, Pink Floyd and Can which are fairly evident in the sound, I'd not really call them prog per se- certainly not genres like 'symphonic' or 'art rock' that are here- as the indie influence sometimes is very strong. I'd vote 'yes' under 'prog related' for sure, but not for any other genre here.

Angeldust Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: September 18 2005 Location: Greece Status: Offline Points: 336	Posted: July 25 2006 at 07:27
	Prog-related for me too.And for god's sake !!!!!!!!DO SOMETHING WITH COHEED & CAMBRIA IN THE ARCHIVES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!