"Mew Shocks and Awes!!! And Confuses!!!"
Album: "No More Stories/Are Told Today/I'm Sorry/They Washed Away//No More Stories/The World Is Grey/I'm Tired/Let's Wash Away"
Genre: Space Rock, Atmospheric, Ambient
Based in: Copenhagen, Denmark
Label: Sony BMG (International) / Evil Office (Denmark)
Year: 2009
Rate: 6.5/10
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Mew's new album "No More Stories/Are Told Today/I'm Sorry/They Washed Away//No More Stories/The World Is Grey/I'm Tired/Let's Wash Away" starts with a track called "New Terrain". It's always a bold statement to name your track 1, side 1 with a title that is suggestive of evolution, progress or change. This really goads my "Oh-rly?!"-sarcastic-bit of my brain, or any critic of music for that matter. The question everybody asks is inevitably: "Is "No More Stories/Are Told Today/I'm Sorry/They Washed Away//No More Stories/The World Is Grey/I'm Tired/Let's Wash Away" really "New Terrain" for Mew?"
"New Terrain", that track is disqualified. So lets skip to the second track (and first single), "Introducing Palace Players"... What can be said about a track which starts with 55-second "groove" with an intentionally difficult rhythm? With said "groove" descending into a more agreeable (still difficult) beat? Well for one, it's cool. For two? It's gimmicky.
Then I listen for a couple of more tracks and I hit "Repeater Beater", another track championed to represent the album. It's more straight forward than "Introducing...", but still gimmicky. An entertaining gimmick, previously exploited by Minus the Bear, but a gimmick nonetheless. Then...
"Cartoons and Macramé Wounds"? Gimmicky!
"Hawaii Dream" and "Hawaii"? Gimmicky!
Even the album title is a gimmick!
It's like they went into a room, and Jonas Bjerre said "Dudes let's make the next album crazy as shit!" and the rest of the band said "That's what I was thinking!"
So: 1. Long Poetic Album Title (Check!), 2. Weird Song Titles (Check), 3. A "Reprise" At The End (Check), etc.
Then I found out the track "New Terrain" becomes "Nervous", when reversed...
I just rolled my eyes.
[...]
That said the less-gimmicky songs from this album I really love. "Beach", "Silas the Magic Car" and "Tricks"? Exquisite. Their previous albums? Very nice! And I think I know why. Each album only has 1 (ONE) gimmick and makes it work.
"Frengers" is a collection of "hit" singles from their early career done in same production standards.
"And the Glass Handed Kites" is one long song divided up into unnoticeable track transition.
I love all of those albums, but ""No More Stories/Are Told Today/I'm Sorry/They Washed Away//No More Stories/The World Is Grey/I'm Tired/Let's Wash Away" is just too much smoke and mirrors for this listener...
So back to the original question. "Is this New Terrain for Mew"?
Well yeah.
If "New Terrain" is defined as more gimmicks.
(Ababil Ashari)
*Review by: Ababil Ashari
Tracklist
01. New Terrain
02. Introducing Palace Players
03. Beach
04. Repeaterbeater
05. Intermezzo 1
06. Silas the Magic Car
07. Cartoons and Macrame Wounds
08. A Dream
09. Hawaii
10. Vaccine
11. Tricks of the Trade
12. Intermezzo 2
13. Sometimes Life Isn't Easy
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