Not so long ago, 100b received Murder Mystery’s (self released) debut album, Are You Ready For The Heartache Cause Here It Comes in our inbox. It being the first thing I’ve found in there that I was really excited about (yup, we listen to every tiny thing you send us, folks), I scooped it up right quick and claimed it for myself.

I imagine a lot of people will cry Strokes when they first hear Murder Mystery, and there’s no denying that there is a Strokesian element there (understandable since Are You Ready … is co-produced by Strokes guru JP Bowersock). Although the tracks available on myspace were more than enough to get me interested, they initially gave me the impression that Murder Mystery’s similarity to The Strokes is more than it really is. Listening to the full album (a lot) shows that Murder Mystery is even better than I’d originally hoped. There’s some early Beatles and Buddy Holly hiding in there, maybe a little Motown and other assorted 60s pop goodness (I swear I hear a little girl group stuff going on), some Beach Boys details, a few 1977 CBGB’s moments, and some excellent handclaps (I’m a big fan of handclaps). You might like them if you like any of those bands mentioned above, The Cribs, The Blood Arm, The Detroit Cobras, Belle & Sebastian, The Modern Lovers, Stellastarr* … Are You Ready is a lovely combination of sounds, feels happy and uplifting - and, maybe it’s just me, but I find it kind of cosy somehow.

As with anytime I try to post about music I really like, I never feel like I’ve been able to do it justice. I always end up letting the music itself do the talking because it’ll probably convince you better than I can.

   Murder Mystery - What My Baby Said
   Murder Mystery - Baby, You Can Write Me A Letter

Are You Ready For The Heartache Cause Here It Comes is available from Insound or for download through SNOCAP at MurderMysterySpace.

(Edit: oopsy, I messed up the link to Murder Mystery’s official site. It’s all better now, so go check them out!)