Our editor’s pick of the albums reviewed on these pages during the past seven days is A Billion Heartbeats from the Mystery Jets – revisit the review and check out the album via Spotify!
“This album appears to be cursed: originally due for release last autumn, it had to be delayed when singer Blaine Harrison underwent an operation for an infection.”
“The band weren’t able to fulfill the promotional duties required (in-stores, radio appearances etc) and so opted to delay the release by six months. Obviously, promotional duties are now off the agenda once more, but at least we finally have the album in full form.”
“Whether or not it’s been worth the wait is a different question. When the Eel Pie Islanders first broke through in the mid-2000s, they were quite lightweight. Although better than much of the so-called indie landfill that they were associated with, as their relative longevity has proved, they were still quite fey.”
“In the preceding years, the electric guitars have been turned up progressively and have surely reached their zenith on A Billion Heartbeats. Where they were scrabbling beneath the surface amidst the airy expanse of previous album Curve Of The Earth, as with their peers Foals’ recent output, here the electric axe is beefed up and dominant, at least on the first half.”