The band’s new album, ‘A Billion Heartbeats’, will be released digitally on 3rd April (with physical copies available in June), following the album’s postponement last September due to lead singer Blaine Harrison’s ill health.
‘A Billion Heartbeats’ as an album achieves a balance of passion, fear and hope. Amid the colourful cavalcade of rich harmonies, heavy guitars and rallying cries, the album’s essential message – about personal responsibility, and the power in becoming engaged. In a sense, it’s not just their “state of the nation” record but their “state of a generation” record too.
Blaine Harrison was living as a property guardian right around the corner from Trafalgar Square where he found himself witness to an entire year of protests in 2017. It was from here that Mystery Jets’ sixth long-player, A Billion Heartbeats, was born. “This album wasn’t about making pointed opinions,” says Blaine. “It was about being a mirror for what’s going on, reflecting back the way people are feeling.”
We increasingly hear from musicians that music should be an escape these days – that there’s enough suffering in the world, enough misery on the news, without writings songs about it too. A Billion Heartbeats makes all that sound like a bit of a cop-out. These are songs of protest that get the heart racing in joy; high on hope, and serious in their message. Proof, basically, that music speaks louder than words.
The band recently announced their rescheduled 2020 tour dates which are as follows:
16-Nov-20 Newcastle The Riverside
18-Nov-20 Edinburgh The Caves
19-Nov-20 Glasgow Oran Mor
20-Nov-20 Leeds The Wardrobe
21-Nov-20 Hull The Welly
24-Nov-20 Manchester Academy 2
25-Nov-20 Leicester O2 Academy 2
26-Nov-20 Birmingham The Mill
29-Nov-20 Norwich Waterfront
1-Dec-20 London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
2-Dec-20 Bristol Trinity
3-Dec-20 Brighton Concorde 2
5-Dec-20 Kendal Brewery Arts Centre
6-Dec-20 Oxford O2 Academy
7-Dec-20 Cambridge Junction
