Mystery Jets are not so much a band as a spectacle.

In an age of sound-alike, look-alike guitar bands, this oddball collective, based on the bohemian stronghold of West London's Eel Pie Island, make it their business to stand out.

First of all, they look different.

Formed around the nucleus of 20 year-old Blaine Harrison (keyboard/vocals), and his father Henry (guitars/vocals), they include Will Rees (guitar/vocals, also 20) who Blaine met at nursery school; Kai Fish (bass/vocals, 21), whose parents lived in a commune with Blaine's parents in the Seventies; and Kapil Trivedi (drums/vocals, 20), a virtuoso drummer and champion breakdancer from Wembley.

They sound different, fusing DIY psychedelia with avant-garde experimentalism, art-rock, folk, reggae and climactic pop.

And they think differently - embodying the libertarian spirit which still pervades Eel Pie Island - a legendary rock hangout surrounded by the Thames at Twickenham.

"We are just trying to write music that excites us," says Kapil.

"We want people to be interested, that's the main thing."

The band were originally called The Misery Jets - a phrase taken from a newspaper headline (Eel Pie Island is under the Heathrow flight path), but was changed to Mystery Jets when Blaine accidentally misspelled the name while painting it on a drum skin.

The band used to practise in a boat shed built by Henry on land he bought after a hippy commune on the island burned down, and played some spectacular circus-style gigs there - until they got too big for the isle.

Clearly, their watery home, with its communal history, means a lot to them. "It is important for music to have a place of origin," says Kapil.

"It's an unusual place which has a lot in common with the band. We are all totally different but also the same.

" We like to think there is no frontman and all share duties.

"At different stages of songs different people will rush to the front and do something.

"There is a real performance side to our shows. Most bands go on stage and just play.

"It's obvious they are doing it day-in, day-out.

"We believe it's important to give the crowd a little bit more."

Which is what they get.

A big part of Mystery Jet's appeal is Blaine's penchant for knocking things together to music.

To date, that includes colanders, rusty pipes, post boxes, rubbish bins, pots, pans, broken cymbals, and, yep, even the kitchen sink.

"He'll walk past what looks like a piece of junk, and say 'that's amazing', says Kapil. "Those sounds are the icing on the cake."

The Mystery Jets are fast becoming an iconic band, at the forefront of West London's burgeoning Thames Beat sound which also Includes Jamie T, Larrikin Love and, of course, Morrison Steam Fayre.

And members of Morrison Steam Fayre will be among the crowd at the Zodiac when Mystery Jets play there on Sunday.

"We love them," said Kapil. "There are some great bands coming out of that part of London.

"And record labels are realising that you don't have to be from Shoreditch, wear leather jackets and look cool, to be taken seriously."

And does he have any surprises in store for the Zodiac crowd on Sunday?

"Maybe," he laughs. "I might even do a bit of breakdancing.

"After all, if you've got it, flaunt it."

Mystery Jets play the Zodiac on Sunday. Doors open at 7pm. Tickets are £9 in advance, and the show is open to ages 14 and over.

The band's debut album Making Dens is out now.