Sunday, September 12th, 2010
"Flakes"
Florence & The Machine covers Mystery Jets
recordstore.co.ukBy the time they released their third record Twenty-One in 2008, the United Kingdom’s Mystery Jets were already a relatively big deal at home, consistently charting with their records and singles and ranking well in the club and festival hierarchies. So when it came time to round up some b-sides for “Half in Love with Elizabeth”, they solicited a cover of another song off that record by a then-mostly unknown singer-songwriter name Florence Welch, who plied her trade under the name Florence & The Machine.
Given the opportunity, she left the song’s spare, jangle-blues balladic structure mostly alone while replacing Blaine Harrison’s strong but sensitive vocals with her own sultry, edge-of-overpowering belting. And while the single itself failed to chart especially well, it certainly didn’t hurt Florence’s career – she would embark on a meteoric rise to stardom with her debut album Lungs in 2009… not that the Jets are doing poorly themselves, their latest record Serotonin being well-received at home and abroad.
Still, you can’t help but marvel at the fact that Florence is appearing at the MTV Video Music Awards tonight and embarking on her third North American tour this Fall, including a November 3 at Toronto’s cavernous Sound Academy, while Mystery Jets are coming over for a rare appearance on this side of the Atlantic with four shows in three cities, one of them being the cozy Horseshoe Tavern tomorrow night, September 13. If Florence wins a VMA, do you think she’ll thank Mystery Jets for giving her a leg up back in the day? Probably not.
People and HitFix talk to Florence Welch. Mystery Jets are performing on CBC’s George Strombolopolous Presents tomorrow afternoon, in-studio in Toronto at 1PM – tickets are free!
MP3: Florence & The Machine – “Flakes”
Video: Mystery Jets – “Flakes”
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9/12/10 4:38 pm
The Mystery Jets performance is now at 2pm. Same place, CBC building (John & Wellington). Thanks!
9/13/10 7:59 pm
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