DANISH outfit Mew won widespread acclaim for their last album,
And the Glass Handed Kites, and now look set to garner even more with its follow-up,
No More Stories.
Euphorically upbeat and progressive, the album is epic in scope and evidence of a band that continues to push its creativity.
There are times when comparisons with everyone from Sigur Ros to MGMT and Passion Pit are appropriate, particularly in the reliance on synth-like flourishes and falsetto-heavy vocals.
But where Sigur Ros opt for a more thoughtful cinematic sweep and the likes of MGMT veer towards the easygoing pop, Mew seek to combine both elements. Hence, you might not hear them on the radio that often, which makes the surprise of listening to their albums all the more great.
Early highlights on this latest long-player include album opener
New Terrain, the funky bassline grooves of
Beach (a perfect slice of summer fun) and the tempo-changing
Repeater Beater, which opens with a proper rock-out guitar flourish before settling into a more synth-charged slice of music complete with headrush chorus.
There’s laidback trippiness surrounding the chilled
Silas The Magic Car, before album centre-piece
Cartoons and Macrame Wounds continues the chillout vibe amid beautifully layered vocals and lush electronic backdrops that continue to grow ever more expansive the longer the track lasts.
It’s a continually tempo-shifting offering and one that demands you take the time to properly listen to it, but its rewards are rich and plentiful.
The two-track
Hawaii Dream and
Hawaii also offer more to uplift and stir the soul, while the penultimate
Sometimes Life Isn’t Easy drops in some brass elements, as well as glockenspiel beats, to offer some paradoxically upbeat instrumentation to the sobering sentiment behind the name of the track. But then that’s very much Mew – confounding expectation in frequently delightful ways.
Download picks: New Terrain, Beach, Repeater Beater, Silas The Magic Car, Cartoons and Macrame Wounds, Hawaii, Sometimes Life Isn’t Easy
Track listing: - New Terrain
- Introducing Palace Players
- Beach
- Repeater Beater
- Intermezzo 1
- Silas the Magic Car
- Cartoons and Macramé Wounds
- Hawaii Dream
- Hawaii
- Vaccine
- Tricks
- Intermezzo 2
- Sometimes Life Isn’t Easy
- Reprise
Read More of the Mew - No More Stories story here ...
For more entertainment news you should visit these pages:
http://www.totalformat.com/forum/gen...tainment-news/
http://www.indielondon.co.uk
Mew - No More Stories
Linear Mode
