The
Syd Barrett-worshiping indie outfit
Mystery Jets formed in the early '90s when the group's shock-headed frontman,
Blaine Harrison, was only 12. The band was initially called
the Misery Jets, in honor of the Heathrow-bound jets that habitually roared over their native Eel Pie Island, but they changed their name when
Blaine (who, again, was very young at the time) misspelled "misery."
The Mystery Jets were essentially a family project, with
Blaine on drums;
Blaine's dad,
Henry Harrison, on bass; and
Blaine's friend
William Rees on guitar.
Henry eventually switched from bass to guitar,
Kai Fish joined up as the group's bassist, and
Blaine switched from drums to keyboards. The group tried out a drum machine and a local kid named Max before finally latching onto drummer
Kapil Trevedi.
Five Tracks EP, recorded soon after
Trevedi joined the group, was released on 679 Records in 2005, and their first full-length album,
Making Dens, was released the following year.
Zootime, a collection of
Making Dens tracks plus remixes and songs from 2006 EPs such as You Can't Fool Me Dennis and
Diamonds in the Dark, was released by Dim Mak in spring 2007. Released in 2008,
Twenty One peaked at number 42 on the U.K. albums chart and boasted the single "Young Love," featuring indie folk queen
Laura Marling. The band's third full-length,
Serotonin, arrived in 2010. Following a secret show at the 2011 SXSW festival, the band set up a mobile studio and recorded the Texas-informed Radlands record, which was released in April of 2012. Shortly before the release of the album, Fish left the band, replaced by Pete Cochrane for their upcoming UK tour.
–
Margaret Reges, Rovi