Animation:

35 mm – An animated montage that depicts 35 classic movies in just one minute!

Short Film/Documentary:

Smith Westerns: Die With Your Chin Up – A snapshot of a band on the brink of something big.

Freeebird #43: On the Stoop with Evil Dee Part 1 – Ladies and gentlemen, bleubird is back! This time we join him as he kicks it in New York and has a candid chat with Evil Dee about DJing, production, and the game of music in general. Bleubird discusses the matter a bit; “Nobs met him through digging and trading vinyl in NY, told him about Freeebird and asked if he would be into an interview, he regaled us with so many stories I had to break it into two pieces

Music Videos:

Tennis – “Take Me Somewhere” – It seems like Tennis is always trying to whisk you away to elsewhere with their peaceful brand of music. In this case, they bring you to a family boat vacation in Chesapeake Bay to make all your troubles melt away.

The Decemberists – “Why We Fight Teaser” – A Cluster 1 premiere! Since albums and movies get teasers these days, why can’t a music video? The Decemberists have teamed up with Aaron Steward-Ahn again to bring forth the next video from their chart-topping album, The King is Dead.

Colourmusic – “You For Leaving Me” – Hands down the craziest video you’ve seen in ages. No lie. If you’re partial to your stuffed animals, though, beware.

Filligar – “Robbery (Shocking Love)” – The Chicago rockers file into their van on a cold winter day, while they also rock out in the studio, shredding their song in its most bluesy and intense form.

Filligar – “Not Gonna Settle” – Sometimes, studio performance videos can be a total bore, but Filligar continues to keep it interesting. With odd angles, and an energetic performance, they clearly have no problem keeping their audiences entertained. Maybe you should see ‘em live? Yes.

Jail Weddings – “Tough Love” – A Cluster 1 premiere! Nothing like watching singer Jada Wagensomer enter a boxing match only to pulverize her opponent’s face.

Nobody Beats the Drum – “Grindin’” – Rogier Van der Zwagg, chief member of Nobody Beats the Drum, tries to beat another warped form of Tetris, by lining up as many rectangle pattern combos as humanly possible.

Lovett – “The Fear” – It took 400 citizens of Atlanta to make this portrait on modern society to happen.

Mystery Jets – “Show Me the Light” – Watch as individuals take a shot at the dreaded balance beam.

Don’t Forget…

– Want a constant stream of musical goodness? Check out our Channel, featuring over 30 music videos, several short films, and other nifty clips, all crammed together in one non-stop barrage of visual and aural stimulation.

- Social networking is a way of life, so follow us at @cluster1tv and on Facebook

From the first minute of opener “Alice Springs”, it’s clear that Mystery Jets are focused on the joy of living life to its fullest in the most interesting ways they can. A delicate guitar/string fade-in brings to mind classic Disney movies, like something out of Fantasia. It gives the feeling of floating through space as you slowly approach the Earth. A deep, rumbling bass fills in the ground beneath these light touches. The song descends to the planet’s surface soon after Blaine Harrison starts to sing in a strong voice about love. All the instruments kick in, transforming the track from a ambient piece to a high-energy rocker with lots of swirling guitar sounds. The way it effortlessly moves from subtle and light to straightforward and heavy is wondrous, adding depth to an already catchy outpouring of joy.

Speaking of Harrison, if you love lyrics about well, love, then you’ll enjoy most of what he has to say. There’s the pure joy of being in love (“I’d do anything you want me to do//Cause I don’t have nothing if I don’t have you”), there’s lust (“Come back to me no need to hide//Make a little room for me tonight”), and there’s loss (“The Girl Is Gone”).

The follow-up, “Too Late to Talk”, definitely shows the impact of having Beatles and Paul McCartney producer Chris Thomas in the band’s corner. The song would fit perfectly on a Wings album, starting off with melodic horns and focusing mostly on piano. As a whole, it’s pretty sappy with wordless “oohs” for backing vocals and light acoustic guitar. But the band’s delivery is so convincing that you won’t mind. It’s this quality that’s the record’s saving grace, especially once their 80s influences start overshadowing their own style.

The two tracks that suffer from influence overload are the title track and “Show Me The Light.” The former will bring the Cars to mind with a strong bass rhythm and a shout-out chorus that surrounds one of the catchiest synth riffs put on record. It’s the type of song made for arena crowds to jump around to. It’s a missed opportunity for an amazing first single, rather than the average “Dreaming Of Another World”.  As for “Show Me The Light”, it’s pretty much a slightly funkier version of “Hungry Like The Wolf”. The bass belongs in a dark, underground club. The shimmering guitar belongs in Wembley Stadium. The percussion is where the similarities shine the strongest. But in both cases, it’s not a straight rip-off of the New Wave movement. Instead, the band creates a potpourri that mixes the best of themselves and the best of their influences into captivating hooks.

The main problem with Serotonin is that it loses steam about two-thirds of the way through. After the mostly upbeat rock of “Lady Gray”, the remainder of the album isn’t as melodically interesting or catchy. What tied all the earlier songs together were their addictive hooks, some of which will get stuck in your head for days. Sadly, these last three tracks don’t have this quality, making them difficult to sit through.

When all is said and done though, seven supremely catchy songs out of 11 is a pretty damn good tracklist. They make the whole effort worth a purchase. So if you’re a fan of those 80s rock bands that didn’t have big hair, you should pick up Serotonin. If not, you should still give it a listen. But don’t come blaming me if you have a random synth riff in your head all week.

The band will embark on a tour round most of the UK festivals before capping things off with a rare trip to the US, where they’ll hit New York City and Los Angeles. There’s also a brief DJ set on the party island of Ibiza prior to the US trip. This may or may not live up to the legendary illegal parties on Eel Pie Island that attracted large crowds and were ultimately closed down by police.

Tickets for US dates are available via Ticketmaster (NY) and Ticketfly (LA).

Mystery Jets 2010 Tour Dates:
06/25 – Pilton, UK @ Glastonbury Festival
07/05 – London, UK @ Rough Trade East (in store)
07/08 – London, UK @ Somerset House
07/09 – York, UK @ Fibbers
07/10 – Balado, UK @ T in the Park
07/11 – Dublin, IE @ Oxegen Festival
07/15 – Kingston, UK @ Banquet Records (in store)
07/15 – Kingston, UK @ The Hippodrome
07/16 – London, UK @ Lovebox Festival
08/01 – Matlock, UK @ Y Not Festival
08/12 – Ibiza, ES @ Pukka Up, Space (DJ Set)
08/27 – Leeds, UK @ Reading & Leeds Festival
08/28 – Reading, UK @ Reading & Leeds Festival
09/04 – Hainault, UK @ Offset Festival
09/14 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
09/15 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
09/17 – Los Angeles, LA @ Troubadour

Recorded at London’s British Grove Studios, the album was produced by Chris Thomas, who has also produced UK heavyweights like Pulp, The Beatles, and Pink Floyd. As for the album’s mission statement, Henry Harrison, father of lead singer Blaine Harrison and a former live member of the band who played on this album, had an interesting way of describing the whatever-may-come vibe of the album.

“We’ve got our hands in the mud,” Harrison said. “That’s what I feel about this album. You take your hands out and if they’re covered in mud, you say, that’s alright. That’s the kind of feeling we want.”

Check out the band at this year’s T in The Park and Reading and Leeds festivals. Serotonin is out July 5th on Rough Trade.

Serotonin Tracklist:
01. Alice Springs
02. Too Late To Talk
03. The Girl Is Gone
04. Flash A Hungry Smile
05. Serotonin
06. Show Me The Light
07. Dreaming Of Another World
08. Lady Grey
09. Waiting On A Miracle
10. Melt
11. Lorna Doone

After spending time working on remixes for the likes of Bloc Party, Hot Chip, Daft Punk, and Klaxons, on top of being a busy DJ, Erol Alkan has produced two albums so far in 2008. One was ‘Couples’ by The Long Blondes and it featured a distinct combination of the bands’ already existing talents and a nostalgic 80′s sound. The other album he produced is Twenty One, and it does a similar thing.

For the uninformed, Mystery Jets is a four-piece band from the Indie Music Isles. For the most part, the band is straight up pop, but differentiates itself from other similar acts by being almost Rain Man-esque in its skill for knowing what is good. Twenty One draws influences from everything from Krautrock to intelligent 80′s pop like The Cure. Hell, in the past the band has even gone so far as putting on a Syd Barrett tribute show, so its influences obviously run deep. To really seal the deal, Mystery Jets’ early work was also produced by another super-DJ, Simian Mobile Disco’s James Ford.

Twenty One opens with one of the more cliché sounds in music today, the air horn. Even so, the rest of “Hideaway” is one of the musically heavier songs on the album. It balances nicely with the lyrics that revolve around cheating and the drama associated with it. The album’s biggest single, “Young Love”, features rising music starlet Laura Marling and is one of those ‘happy songs.’ In other words, it has a sing-a-long chorus, flawless percussion, and saccharine lyrics that revolve around looking for that lost love.

“Half in Love with Elizabeth” continues the really strong stretch at the beginning of the album. The song, like many on the album, does a great job of involving the 80′s sound without it really even being noticed to the unaware listener. There’s also some harmonic background vocals, a deep bass line, and some synth lines that match very well with lyrics like, “But how can you put your trust in a man who always sleeps in his clothes?”

Songs like “Flakes” and “Umbrellahead” seem to be more affected by the band trying to push its style to the edge. “Flakes” has a 1960′s pop feeling and is more of that breakup ballad song for the broken-hearted. “Umbrellahead” features sounds straight out of an old Western (distinct piano and string arrangements) and lyrics that deal with not wanting to grow old. “Hand Me Down” unleashes an attack on women who sleep around with lyrics like “Is it ‘cause you daddy was never around?” but the band mellows it out with some well-placed pop guitar sounds.

The standout track on the album for many listeners is the song “Two Doors Down”. The music brings out the best memories from those John Hughes films seen over here in America. It features that xylophone style synthesizer sound, saxophone and horn sections, and vocals that bring Robert Smith to mind. Again, the lyrics delve into the “love” territory. The story of the song is about being in love with a neighbor and debating on what to do about it. While not rewriting the book on relationship songs, the woman in question plays drums and likes to dance to Marquee Moon, so the band clearly still identifies talent in everyone.

Twenty One is a top-notch album and is clearly a “lovers” album for the late 2000′s. Its 1980′s inspired music tries a little something different and balances out well with all the other 80′s sounding bands that clutter the music scene. The lyrics take it away from the 1980′s cheesiness and moves it into love song cheesiness. The intelligence of the songs in both music and lyrics moves those songs about love into the modern day and shows the range of the group. Erol Alkan’s growth as a producer is also shown in his ability to move away from the harder dance remixes he is known for. Overall, this album evokes moods and emotions and while not all the songs are great or memorable, everyone needs to hear a song about love and loss every once in awhile, so why not the Mystery Jets?

Check Out:
“Flakes”