This London-based experimental rock quintet was one of the most unusual acts to emerge on the UK music scene at the start of the new millennium. Formed in 2000 by father and son duo Henry Harrison (vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion) and Blaine Harrison (vocals, keyboards, percussion) with William Rees (guitar, vocals, percussion, keyboards), the early set up of the band featured the elder Harrison playing bass and his son on drums. Henry switched to guitar with the recruitment of bass player Kai Fish and keyboard player Tamara, with the new-look quintet making their debut with the self-released Mystery Jets EP. Further line-up changes ensued, with Kapil Trivedi taking over from Blaine on drums, while the latter's switch to keyboards saw Tamara exiting the band.
The Eel Pie Island EP followed, taking its name from the band's unusually named base in the River Thames at Twickenham. The vinyl single "Zoo Time" was released at the start of 2005 on the Transgressive label, shortly before the quintet signed their first proper recording contract with the 679 Recordings label. In 2006 the Mystery Jets began to make inroads into the UK charts with "You Can't Fool Me Dennis", "Alas Agnes" and "The Boy Who Ran Away", and released their album debut Making Dens in March. The album's dense mish-mash of styles ranged from conventional pop, through psychedelia, indie rock and post-punk, in a manner reminiscent of UK predecessors the Beta Band. Like that outfit the results were not always successful, but the overall impression gained from the album was of a band working their way towards brilliance.
