The Mistys are never static. Always changing, always shifting shape, the Manchester-based electronic duo, singer Beth Roberts and electronics artist Andrew Hargreaves, playfully mix and explore genres to create their own self-contained sonic world, with a distinctive and tongue-in-cheek subversive pop aesthetic. Subversives in pop’s clothing.

With Situations | Useless Mouths, The Mistys turn away from the introspection of their previous album and boldly aim their sights at the hedonistic dancefloor. Here, joy becomes a form of activism: a promise of possibility and shared uplift in a dreary world. Pop, in their hands, is transformational: it can turn confinement into release, confrontation into consolation, loneliness into togetherness beneath the lights. It can make the world feel better… at least until the record ends.

This is a call to open your hearts and conjure joy.

The album unfolds like a collection of short stories: snapshots, phone notes, lived moments, potentialities, raptures and contingencies, rendered in the Mistys’ signature dreamlike haze. Their music remains as enigmatic and art-driven as ever but here, the pulse is brighter, the invitation clearer.

Step inside, and stay as long as the beat holds.