Yahoo! Music Album Review

Released on 26/09/05
Label: BMG

Think of the biggest thing you can think of. You've probably thought of a shirehorse or a fire engine but it needs to be much bigger. Let's say, for example, you think of Portsmouth or possibly a deep lake. Hold that thought. Now turn your attention to Danish group Mew. You may remember from their previous album "Frengers" that Mew are a dab hand at achingly pretty, androgynous, soaring rock music that makes everyone nostalgic for the shoegazing genre, despite the fact that the majority of bands hiding under that particular fringe were not even close to being as good as Mew. So that's Mew then.

Now take your Portsmouth or your lake and make it collide at tremendous speed with the aforementioned Mew. The overwhelming sound of such an impact would be something akin to "Circuitry Of The Wolf" which is the opening track on Mew's new album - i.e. a very big noise. Something has happened in Mew's world; something enormous and brilliant. Where once were songs now stand slabs of complex yet thrilling symphonic movements that veer between cataclysmic thrashing to delicate minimalism and all points in between, each containing at least five potential songs in their own right, yet none of them hanging around long enough to leave you secure or comfortable.

"Why Are You Looking Grave?" sees Mew coming over all Dinosaur Jr then, lo and behold, up pops J Mascis himself to growl his trademark sleepy magic all over it. Singer Jonas reaches notes no developed adult male should be able to reach with a voice for which singing and sighing are one and the same. Drummer Silas (who has the best hair) is on some special odyssey of his own; tempos forever changing and leading the music in a way drums rarely get to do. And is that a double bass drum technique we can hear on "Apocalypso"? Bonham be praised!

If there's a downside to the album it's that you'd have to be f*cking deranged to listen to it all in one sitting. And if you weren't, you would be by the end. Every track is meticulously composed to within an inch of its life and each piece is embodied with such strength that listening to it can be like standing in a wind tunnel. This is not to say it's at any time willfully unlistenable or discordant. What Mew have retained from previous releases is their very Scandinavian sense of harmony and melody that often sees them compared to Sigur Ros. The two groups are musical neighbours, even if the latter would be round regularly to complain about the din.

"And The Glass Handed Kites" is truly a masterpiece and one that you'll keep exploring for years. Goodness knows where they go from here, though. Wherever it is, it will probably be bigger than Portsmouth, deeper than a very deep lake and utterly terrifying. Can't wait!

    by Tom Townsend