“Nine songs. Well written. Impeccably played. ”
“Nine songs. Well written. Impeccably played. “
Mist and Mast – Mist and Mast
Here’s a few notes for bands that are just starting out. You don’t need to be flash. You don’t need to follow trends. You don’t need to have a gimmick. You don’t need to wear stupid clothes. You don’t need to have daft haircuts. You don’t need to make your mouth go and slag everybody off. You don’t need to come up with a bunch of singles that will fill the dancefloor if you don’t want to. You don’t need to have an ego the size of Mount Everest. You don’t have to sound like one of your favourite bands. You just need to be yourself.
Make the music you want to make. Write the songs you want to hear and write it all from your heart. Being the next best thing will only ever last so long. Just do your thing and make it something you enjoy. If you want your band to matter then it really has to matter to you. If you get all of this right, then you can pretty much choose to do any or all of the above, but please, avoid white trousers at all costs. Mist and Mast seem to have got it right. Nine songs. Well written. Impeccably played. No fuss, no hassle, just wholehearted honesty. This, my dear Incendiary reader, is an indie delight.
You’ll get the feeling that these songs are really important to Jason Lakis, for he be Mist and Mast, and what’s great is that they’re so good they may well end up meaning quite a bit to you too. There’s no hit single on here, but there isn’t a bad note on the album. If it were a friend, this album wouldn’t be the funny one who entertains everybody and is always the centre of attention, this would be the strong dependable type who’s always there to rely on. In time, this could even become your best friend, it’s that good. It’s the closest thing I’ve heard to Stephen Malkmus in years, only easier to digest. Wonderful stuff.
Words: Damian Leslie