Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Sometimes a change of scenery can give someone a new perspective, and traveling to Austin, Texas to record their fourth album has made an audible difference in the way Mystery Jets do things. While their previous albums displayed a charming fascination with '80s pop and electronics both old and new, Radlands reflects the drier, sunnier climate in which it was created. Keyboards play a lesser role in these arrangements, the melodies sound more organic and direct, and steel guitars and vocal choruses punctuate the tunes; while suggesting the band has embraced roots rock is going way too far to prove a point, there's a sunburned, burnished glow to the best moments here that makes it sound as if traveling to Texas was the same thing as taking the Way-Back Machine to Laurel Canyon circa 1972 in the minds of Mystery Jets. (Producer Dan Carey gives the sessions a comfortable, naturalistic tone that's a superb match for the material.) The group's stay in the Southwest is also reflected in the existential angst-fest "Lost in Austin" and the contemplative "The Ballad of Emmerson Lonestar," while "You Had Me at Hello" recounts a road trip to the Mustang Ranch in Nevada, and the sly, bittersweet tale of one jaded gentleman's evening with a hooker recalls the enchanting cynicism of Steely Dan's glory days. Radlands represents a changeup for Mystery Jets, but not a radical one; the melodic strength of these songs and the push and pull between the playful and the philosophical in the lyrics is in the same ballpark as Serotonin and Twenty One, and "Greatest Hits" is a top-shelf would-be hit single, and one of the finest examples yet of a pop tune about the post-breakup division of a shared record collection. Not a reinvention so much as an enjoyable detour, Radlands is a set of aural postcards from the Lone Star State that demonstrates just how much good a working vacation can do.
© Mark Deming /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From $16.65/month
Dan Carey, Producer, MixingEngineer - Kai Fish, Composer, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Mystery Jets, MainArtist - William Rees, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Blaine Harrison, Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Kapil Trivedi, Composer, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - Matt Park, AssociatedPerformer - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Transgressive Publishing via Warner Chappell, MusicPublisher
2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd 2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd
Dan Carey, Producer, MixingEngineer - Kai Fish, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Mystery Jets, MainArtist - William Rees, AssociatedPerformer - Blaine Harrison, Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Kapil Trivedi, AssociatedPerformer - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Transgressive Publishing via Warner Chappell, MusicPublisher
2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd 2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd
Dan Carey, Producer, MixingEngineer - Kai Fish, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Mystery Jets, MainArtist - William Rees, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Blaine Harrison, Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Kapil Trivedi, AssociatedPerformer - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Transgressive Publishing via Warner Chappell, MusicPublisher
2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd 2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd
Dan Carey, Producer, MixingEngineer - Kai Fish, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Mystery Jets, MainArtist - William Rees, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Blaine Harrison, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Kapil Trivedi, AssociatedPerformer - Henry Harrison, ComposerLyricist - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - Matt Park, AssociatedPerformer - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Transgressive Publishing via Warner Chappell, MusicPublisher
2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd 2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd
Dan Carey, Producer, MixingEngineer - Kai Fish, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Mystery Jets, MainArtist - William Rees, AssociatedPerformer - Blaine Harrison, Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Kapil Trivedi, AssociatedPerformer - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Transgressive Publishing via Warner Chappell, MusicPublisher
2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd 2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd
Dan Carey, Producer, MixingEngineer - Kai Fish, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Mystery Jets, MainArtist - William Rees, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Blaine Harrison, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Kapil Trivedi, AssociatedPerformer - Henry Harrison, ComposerLyricist - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Transgressive Publishing via Warner Chappell, MusicPublisher
2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd 2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd
Dan Carey, Producer, MixingEngineer - Kai Fish, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Mystery Jets, MainArtist - William Rees, AssociatedPerformer - Blaine Harrison, Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Kapil Trivedi, AssociatedPerformer - Henry Harrison, ComposerLyricist - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Transgressive Publishing via Warner Chappell, MusicPublisher
2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd 2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd
Dan Carey, Producer, MixingEngineer - Kai Fish, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Mystery Jets, MainArtist - William Rees, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Blaine Harrison, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Kapil Trivedi, AssociatedPerformer - Sophie Rose Harper, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Transgressive Publishing via Warner Chappell, MusicPublisher
2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd 2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd
Dan Carey, Producer, MixingEngineer - Kai Fish, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Jamie Anderson, Choir - Mystery Jets, MainArtist - William Rees, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Blaine Harrison, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Kapil Trivedi, AssociatedPerformer - Henry Harrison, ComposerLyricist - Travis Cole, Choir - Beverlyn McKinson, Choir - Ennis Langdon, Choir - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Transgressive Publishing via Warner Chappell, MusicPublisher - Marcus Morgan-Valentine, Choir - Nehita Juliana, Choir
2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd 2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd
Dan Carey, Producer, MixingEngineer - Kai Fish, Composer, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Mystery Jets, MainArtist - William Rees, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Blaine Harrison, Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Kapil Trivedi, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Transgressive Publishing via Warner Chappell, MusicPublisher
2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd 2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd
Dan Carey, Producer, MixingEngineer - Kai Fish, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Mystery Jets, MainArtist - William Rees, AssociatedPerformer - Blaine Harrison, Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Kapil Trivedi, AssociatedPerformer - Henry Harrison, ComposerLyricist - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Transgressive Publishing via Warner Chappell, MusicPublisher - Fred Stitz, AssociatedPerformer
2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd 2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd
Album review
Sometimes a change of scenery can give someone a new perspective, and traveling to Austin, Texas to record their fourth album has made an audible difference in the way Mystery Jets do things. While their previous albums displayed a charming fascination with '80s pop and electronics both old and new, Radlands reflects the drier, sunnier climate in which it was created. Keyboards play a lesser role in these arrangements, the melodies sound more organic and direct, and steel guitars and vocal choruses punctuate the tunes; while suggesting the band has embraced roots rock is going way too far to prove a point, there's a sunburned, burnished glow to the best moments here that makes it sound as if traveling to Texas was the same thing as taking the Way-Back Machine to Laurel Canyon circa 1972 in the minds of Mystery Jets. (Producer Dan Carey gives the sessions a comfortable, naturalistic tone that's a superb match for the material.) The group's stay in the Southwest is also reflected in the existential angst-fest "Lost in Austin" and the contemplative "The Ballad of Emmerson Lonestar," while "You Had Me at Hello" recounts a road trip to the Mustang Ranch in Nevada, and the sly, bittersweet tale of one jaded gentleman's evening with a hooker recalls the enchanting cynicism of Steely Dan's glory days. Radlands represents a changeup for Mystery Jets, but not a radical one; the melodic strength of these songs and the push and pull between the playful and the philosophical in the lyrics is in the same ballpark as Serotonin and Twenty One, and "Greatest Hits" is a top-shelf would-be hit single, and one of the finest examples yet of a pop tune about the post-breakup division of a shared record collection. Not a reinvention so much as an enjoyable detour, Radlands is a set of aural postcards from the Lone Star State that demonstrates just how much good a working vacation can do.
© Mark Deming /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 11 track(s)
- Total length: 00:51:59
- Main artists: Mystery Jets
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Rough Trade
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock Alternative & Indie
2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd 2012 Rough Trade Records Ltd
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.