Today, Mysteries is revealing the video for “Authenticity Machine” from their debut album New Age Music Is Here, out now via Felte. The video, which is their first ever and was given to the label with no advance notice, is comprised of clips from a documentary about “Ian,” a conspiracy theorist and self-proclaimed alien abductee. It premiered via DIY Mag, who noted that “In [the] new video, this ‘Authenticity Machine’ that Mysteries are so embroiled in comes into full bloom… Mysteries might be from another planet altogether. It wouldn’t be the biggest surprise.”
The video comes after the release of singles “Deckard,” “Newly Thrown,” “Authenticity Machine” and “Ev’rything.” “Deckard” quickly garnered praise across the pond from The Guardian, who named Mysteries “Band of the Week.” Additionally, NME featured the band in its revered Radar column, and “Deckard” was highlighted by tastemaker Laura Laverne on BBC6. Following the release of “Deckard,” the band revealed “Newly Thrown,” which Stereogum praised for its “grooving pulse and weary croon… fleshed out by eerie ethereal mood music.” “Authenticity Machine” was lauded by Noisey as “moodily obtuse: drum sticks clatter, doomy synths rumble-almost on a trip-hop tip-while the singer’s languorously paced, velvety tones contain the warmth and depth of Elbow’s Guy Garvey.” The group also recently shared “Ev’rything” via Self-Titled, who praised its “self assured… steam-pressed pop grooves.”
Mysteries is just as it implies. A few months ago the Felte label received an anonymous demo accompanied by a photo of 3 figures, faces covered like some sort of futuristic druids. To this day the label still doesn’t know the group’s origin, but the joy of discovering this music unimpeded renders this fact almost irrelevant.
There’s a sense that the band would prefer to keep your focus on the music and not who they are, where they come from or what you might perceive them to be before hearing a single note. If you need glorious mug shots and preamble to capture your intrigue, then this is not for you. The album’s title, New Age Music is Here, could even be interpreted as a sarcastic shot at the new listening habits dictated by the constant noise all around us, but is more likely a simple invitation to engage with the music on its own terms, in its own universe.One thing is certain, New Age Music Is Here glows with exotic, crunchy, muscular, expressive pop music built around vocals and drums, rather than the big synth or guitar riffs prevalent today. Almost like a psych-rock, cyborg, 50’s doo-wop Alice Coltrane if you will. Is it truly new age? We definitely haven’t heard much like it.
