Albums to watch

Radlands

Mystery Jets

Radlands

Fourth album of indie rock from the West London quartet recorded in Austin, Texas

ADM rating[?]

6.6

Label
Rough Trade
UK Release date
30/04/2012
US Release date
08/05/2012
  1. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    There's more emphasis on guitars, and they appear to have ingested a whole load of pharmaceuticals, but at heart they're a great pop band
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  2. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Bright, snappy and instantly infectious hooks. Print edition only

  3. 8.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    Mature, reflective, intelligent, Americana-inflected
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  4. 8.0 |   The Observer

    They're not the first London boys to start waxing lyrical about "12 gauges" and the "old interstate", but the results are almost always convincing
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  5. 8.0 |   The Scotsman

    A record which emphasises Mystery Jets’ place as one of our most adventurous guitar groups
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  6. 8.0 |   Clash

    Simply a superb collection of beautifully captured moments
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  7. 8.0 |   NME

    While other Brit rockers come over all starry-eyed and reverent when making their would-be Great American Album, ‘Radlands’ is about as authentically Yankee as Christian Bale’s mid-Atlantic drawl, and just dandy for it
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  8. 8.0 |   Art Rocker

    Though some tracks could have been more ruthlessly edited, this is another fine transmission from one of our greatest bands
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  9. 8.0 |   The Quietus

    Radlands displays a new direction and confidence and shows that, while their old mucker Emerson Lonestar might be stuck with his dodgy nun, Mystery Jets' journey unfolds ever new
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  10. 8.0 |   Rave Magazine

    While some will be put-off by the shift in direction, it has served to reignite a band who were getting lost in their own formula and predictability
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  11. 8.0 |   PopMatters

    The album of their career
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  12. 7.0 |   FasterLouder

    There is punch in those muddy guitars, and genuineness in the tales of Emerson Lonestar that solidify what appears to be a serious dedication to a newfound sound
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  13. 7.0 |   AU Review

    Radlands once again demonstrates Blaine Harrison and co’s uncanny ability to adapt and bend with the prevailing musical winds
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  14. 7.0 |   BBC

    While no longer the carefree creatures of their early records, Mystery Jets sound as bracingly hit-and-miss as they’ve ever done on Radlands, and for that much alone we can be thankful
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  15. 7.0 |   The AU Review

    Radlands feels like an experimentation pulled off by great musicians whose strengths lie in creating catchy riffs and lyrical tales that capture the listener
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  16. 6.0 |   The Arts Desk

    It’s the sound of a band trying on a different persona to see if it works
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  17. 6.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    A place of bitter emotions and broken ambition, Radlands encapsulates its geographic influences better than the Mystery Jets could have possibly intended
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  18. 6.0 |   The Digital Fix

    Darker than anything they've done before, it's a welcome change of pace from the disappointingly conventional Serotonin and captures the charm of their exciting debut Making Dens
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  19. 6.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    They’re a sunshine band, you’d dance to them at a festival but the music would languish unplayed at home
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  20. 6.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    It’s taken a while for Mystery Jets to discover who they are, but finally they have, and they’re coming to a CB radio near you. God save the past
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  21. 5.4 |   Pitchfork

    The problem with Radlands is that, armed with the potential to go wild with a new bag of tricks, Mystery Jets often become as conservatively minded as parts of the state whose outline graces the album's cover
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  22. 5.0 |   Uncut

    Blaine Harrison's men have a mind to ramble. Print edition only

  23. 5.0 |   Bowlegs

    Maybe heading into the big wide open seemed like a good idea when originally conceived, but by the time we get to Lost in Austin the title seems a little too close to home
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  24. 4.5 |   Beats Per Minute

    The predictable melodic twists and some truly awful lyrics will likely prove too much to endure
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  25. 4.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    Most of the album simply falls flat melodically, lyrically, or both
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  26. 4.0 |   The Guardian

    Lacking the bounce or charm of previous efforts
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Mystery Jets: Radlands

  • Download full album for just £8.49
  • 1. Radlands £0.89
  • 2. You Had Me At Hello £0.89
  • 3. Someone Purer £0.89
  • 4. The Ballad of Emmerson Lonestar £0.89
  • 5. Greatest Hits £0.89
  • 6. The Hale Bop £0.89
  • 7. The Nothing £0.89
  • 8. Take Me Where The Roses Grow £0.89
  • 9. Sister Everett £0.89
  • 10. Lost In Austin £0.89
  • 11. Luminescence £0.89
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