The album Songs for the Jet Set, Volume 2 follows in the distinct musical vision of Mike Alway, experienced previously by releases with labels Cherry Red, Blanco y Negro, and el. Released on his current label if..., in association with Siesta, the album is both a mix of covers (including "These Boots Are Made For Walking") and originals (including songs by Louis Philippe and Momus-penned Milky).

History generally turns back on itself for inspiration; the result is often a weak retread of past styles. Jet Set puts a past of forgotten classics (that status being designated by less than age and popular appeal and more by reverence received) and originals into a compilation that is a coherent album and not merely a collection of songs. Musical history, from Russ Meyer film soundtracks to torch songs, is reinterpreted for a relevance in the present and future. The question arises: are the originals in the style of the past, or were the covers ahead of their time, only to be understood in the present? That is also a question that does not need to be answered; it brings too much seriousness to the mind. If other music presupposes its own necessity and seriousness, Jet Set is content with its status of a pop song lasting in the moment. And seriousness, unless firmly shrouded in humor, is never much of a laugh.

if... is a self-proclaimed fantasy-pop label where anything can happen. A freedom exists in fantasy when reality can be forsaken in lieu of something more magical. And pop music has always been about freedom in its various forms. The first volume of Jet Set created a world where aesthetes, lovers, dreamers, artists, children, and those of any misunderstood persuasion could congregate. Irony has been pushed to the wayside; the success of the Jet Set is its whole-hearted belief in self and pop music. Jet Set remembers the thrill of the new. A song still has the power to change the world, growing from one person at a time to an unspoken nation for those that do not fit in anywhere else.

One of the oldest functions of art and music is to offer a relief from reality. Jet Set performs that function well. Light-hearted at first impression, the realization occurs only later that this is very deliberate, in the sense that both thought and effort have been invested. And thinking about such things forgets that pop music is about now, and the 'now' is exactly what the Jet Set is celebrating.