Good Weather For Airstrikes

One of my favorite things to do is discover new music, and when I find new music, whether via the internet or that has been recommended by a friend, that I genuinely enjoy, it is a truly rewarding experience. It is exceedingly rare, however, for me to have a band recommended to me that I have a) never heard of, and b) absolutely fall in love with when I hear them. However, a couple weeks ago I was treated to just such an experience when my friend Austin told me about a band that sounded very intriguing, then wrote a post on them with many downloadable tracks. The band was Mew, the post can be found HERE, the songs were unbelievable, and the rest is history. Disclaimer: Describing Mew requires an unprecedented amount of adverbs.

When I heard those songs, I was immediately motivated to acquire as many more Mew songs as possible, and I have since acquired all four of their full-lengths. I was also struck by a desire to learn as much about this band as possible. One of the first things I discovered is that they hail from Denmark; I was pretty sure this made them the best thing to come out of Denmark in history, but decided that rather than brashly post such a statement, I would do a little research to verify that. My findings: music-hating Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich is from Denmark. Mew: 1, Other Great Danes (ha!): 0. Morten Andersen, mid-40s NFL Kicker, is from Denmark. Mew: 2, Others: 0. Niels Bohr, Nobel Prize-winning physicist, is from Denmark… push. Viggo Mortensen, professional Aragorn, is from Denmark. Mew: 3, Others: 0.
That girl from Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” video (MTV’s ‘Sexiest Video of All Time’) is from Denmark. Mew: 3, Others: 1. Actress Brigitte Nielson, who posed for Playboy, is from Denmark. Mew: 3, Others: 2. Ole Kirk Christiansen, inventor of LEGO, is from Denmark… another push. So, after conducting all that educational research, I stand by my statement that the mathematical inequality of Mew > (Denmark - Mew) holds true. [UPDATE: Apparently I touched a nerve with this paragraph. Yes, The Raveonnetes are from Denmark. Yes, Efterklang is from Denmark. Of course, the unforgettable Junior Senior is from Denmark. I realize Mew is not the only band to come out of Denmark; all I am saying is that Mew is far and away the best of the bunch. Remember, Danes, your proudest musical export to date is “Barbie Girl”-singing Aqua. You are in no position to argue.]

Mew has been making mewsic (ha!) for nearly a decade now, and the general consensus that I wholeheartedly agree with is that their greatest masterwork to date is 2003’s epicly gorgeous and wholly impeccable Frengers (the subtitle offers explanation for this title: “Not quite friends, not quite strangers”). From start to finish, this ten-track album literally never ceases to astound me at how amazing this band is. The bands sound is hard to describe, though comparisons of lead vocalist and guitarist Jonas Bjerre’s voice to that of Sigur Ros’s Jonsi Birgisson are not too far-fetched (don’t worry, Mew sings in English), though one could also draw some similarities to Thom Yorke’s breaking vocals on much of Kid A. The band is comprised of truly outstanding musicians, and it is taking a great deal of effort to not just post the whole album here. The album is definitely near the top of my list of favorite albums, and I feel it’s only fair to warn you that Mew can be addictive; since I first discovered them I’ve had a difficult time listening to anything else. Without further ado, some of the highestlight of Frengers (every track is a highlight) can be downloaded below, and I’d like to once again refer you to Austin’s post at All Things Go, found HERE, where I would recommend you download “Am I Wry? No.” and the radio edit of “Comforting Sounds”, the first and last tracks on Frengers, as well “The Zookeeper’s Boy”, one of the two highlights from Mew’s 2005 release, Mew And The Glass Handed Kites.

Snow Brigade - This song is one of the louder, more rocking tracks from Frengers. The instrumentation is strong and heavier than normal for Mew. The chorus is, like nearly all of Mew’s choruses, remarkably catchy. One formula that Mew utilizes often and with excellent results is the instrumental backing generally flares up significantly during the chorus, and the tunefulness of Bjerre’s vocals in the chorus generally far exceed the verses. Mew has crafted what are in my opinion some of the most memorable chorus’s of this millenium. “Snow Brigade” stands out to me for the way its driving guitar occasionally quiets to showcase Bjerre’s beautiful chorus, the musical equivalent of rolling dark clouds parting in favor of a brief but inspiring ray of sunlight.

Symmetry - Much of the singing in this laid-back, minimalistic song is done by an American girl named Becky Jarrett, who was only fourteen years old when this song was recorded. The ballad showcases Jarrett’s remarkably mature young voice on top of a gentle piano, and Bjerre takes over the backing vocals. Bjerre drops his normally high voice considerably to contrast Jarrett, a very sound decision.

She Came Home For Christmas - This is Mew at their poppiest, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. This song is incredibly catchy, and I cannot find a single fault with it. Mew has released this song as a single more than once, and though the band has found success in its native Denmark, the United States is still depressingly unaware of this band. If more people heard this song, that would change; I can’t imagine anybody disliking it. If you haven’t been convinced by the 2:42 mark, you will be after you hear the song break down in to pure musical exuberance. If even at the conclusion of this track you have not fallen in love with Mew and everything they stand for, you do not have a soul.

She Spider - Close your eyes. This song was on the Spider-Man 2 soundtrack. Okay, you can open them now. Anyway, this song literally explodes at the 1:18 mark, and it just does not look back. This is where Bjerre’s vocals most closely resemble Thom Yorke’s, though with the instrumentation provided by Bo Madsen, Jonah Wohlert, and Utke Graae Jorgensen it may be hard to distinguish. Though all Mew songs are fairly anthemic, this song is different from many other Mew songs because its inclusion of an odd guitar solo; Mew is better working together than if anyone tries to do something on their own, and the solo can get old after a while. Attempted guitar heroics notwithstanding, this is another excellent Mew song and, when contrasted with the sparse piano ballad of “Symmetry”, truly illustrates the level of musical diversity this band is capable of.

I’m pretty sure this goes without saying, but in case it doesn’t, all of these songs are [highly recommended]. Enjoy!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 14th, 2006 at 10:11 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.