Mew is not a fun band to try to categorize.
Variously described in press and conversation as prog, shoegaze, pop, indie-rock, post rock…etc., it seems excessive to attempt to throw too much more buzzword hyperbole into the mix.
At times, Mew do brings to mind a score of influences and spiritual cousins ranging from King Crimson to M83 to The Smashing Pumpkins. However, the truth is that Mew has achieved something greater: Mew, above all, sounds like Mew.
On their new record, the lengthy title which appears above, the band thankfully places far greater emphasis on its unique big sonics, punchy rhythms and the ethereal tenor of singer Jonas Bjerre, than on the epidemic cuteness of some of its dream-pop and eccentric counterparts.
Only on the airy track “Cartoons and Macramé Wounds” does the trio momentarily stray into twee-bombast territory, initially trading in angular drums and guitars for precious cooing, though even this less-than-perfect exercise does crescendo into the brand of dense and engaging maximalist jam that defines the record as a whole.
Though arguably not the absolute apex of any of the scenes Mew dips its toes into on No More Stories…, this latest offering admirably pulls off the almost-too-weird-to-be-pop single in “Introducing the Palace Players,” rides on a consistent groove and aesthetic, and proves on the whole to be worth more than a few spins on the iTunes.
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3.5 / 5
