Cult London band Mystery Jets have shared their new double A-side single, 'Flea Joint' / 'Anaglypta', from their forthcoming seventh album, A Hole To See The Sky Through.
Showcasing two contrasting yet complementary sides of the record, the release pairs the expansive, anthemic indie rock of ‘Flea Joint‘ with the widescreen, Springsteen-tinged storytelling of ‘Anaglypta‘.
‘Anaglypta’ tells a story of dream-chasing over sweeping melodies that evoke open roads and endless horizons, while ‘Flea Joint‘ delivers one of the album’s biggest, most uplifting moments, built around soaring hooks and an unmistakable sense of momentum. Together, the two tracks offer another glimpse into the breadth of A Hole To See The Sky Through, following previous singles ‘Black Sage‘, ‘A Hole To See The Sky Through I‘, and the deeply personal ‘Soul River‘.
Listen to ‘Flea Joint’ on Red Devils Records.
Speaking about ‘Flea Joint’, frontman Blaine Harrison shares, “We wanted to create something which felt really linear and hypnotic, so over several hot summer nights we set about improvising melodies and hooks over a layered patchwork of jittery, skippy loops. That process of gradual refinement reminded us of how a piece by Fela Kuti or Can might have been written, yet something about the cyclical riff evoked 80s Manchester, and that steered us back a little closer to home.
And on ‘Anaglypta’, “Anaglypta was a brand of textured wallpaper much loved by the Victorians for evoking the timeless appearance of ornate plasterwork. But by the 60s and 70s, it had become popular with landlords wishing to make squalid rooms appear more inviting, and was especially effective at concealing cracks in walls and ceilings. It felt like an evocative symbol for a portrait of someone who has become trapped in a hellish state of domestic stasis and is yearning to escape the grind of a life that no longer fits them. It was important to us that the music felt uplifting- we often have a scene from a film or a book in mind to help conjure imagery; in this case it was taking flight over the moonlit rooftops in search of a version of Neverland, even if it may only ever exist as a figment of your imagination.”
Titled after Yoko Ono’s minimalist masterpiece of the same name, and featuring the original work – a simple white postcard with a circle cut out – on its album cover having been granted special permission by the artist herself, A Hole To See The Sky Through finds the band fighting fear with the best tools they have: imagination, joy, and the sort of boundless, irresistible melodies that have kept them at the heart of British guitar music for the past 20 years. The album will be released on August 21 via Fiction Records.
