Album of the month :
May 2003
MEW (DK) :
" Frengers "
( Epic/ Sony)
Made mostly of re-recorded new songs, this first " international" output by Mew therefore draws inevitable comparisons with the band's early stuff. Of course, it would have been better to discover " Frengers" with fresh ears, without knowing anything about these Danes and the albums they previously recorded in their native country. But weren't we fans right from the start ??
Formerly on " Half The World Is Watching Me" ( their second album only released in Denmark), opener Am I Wry ? No definitively sweeps away any fear that Mew could turn MOR now they're on a major company. The original cut was already close to perfection, but here, this multi-layered pop gem gets a new dimension with a mix that focuses on rhythms ( the drumming is particularly impressive) and gives the guitars a compelling ass-kicking power. As a result, the song is more dynamic and punchier, definitely better than the original version. The wonderful 156 ( again from " Half The World...") also benefits from this vigorous treatment that emphasizes the contrast between the verse and the chorus to arresting effect. One may regret the subtleties of the former recording, but this new approach is obviously far more effective. It still prevails on Snow Brigade, a quite pleasant new song yet too much in the Am I Wry ? No to fully jusify its presence here. Of the new tracks, Behind The Drapes is the most easily forgettable, hardly more than a neat transition between the first and second part of the album. More interesting, She Spider starts with a deceptively quiet intro, then suddenly kicks off and hits hard, culinating in a surprisingly dissonant guitar solo. But best of all is the gentle Eight Flew Over, One Was Destroyed, which displays a gorgeous heart-melting melody that fits perfectly to Jonas Bjerre's alluring falsetto.
As brilliant as the production may seem at first, it doesn't work on every track though. A blatant failure is the new version of Her Voice Is Beyond Her Years, that priceless pearl from " Half The World Is Watching Me". Now shortened of its intro and coda, the song just seems senseless, deprived of all the magic that graced the original. Bad trick for de luxe guest-star Stina Nordenstam ! She Came Home For Christmas also suffers from this obsessively laboured soundscape, both contrived and artificial. The new recording has neither the baroque beauty of the 1997 single-mix, nor the moving simplicity of the former version ( on Mew's debut " A Triumph For Man"). Predictably, slow number do not harmonize with the boosted production as well as fast ones do. At least, Comforting Sound - the atypical 9-minute long single - manages to stay almost unscathed, even if a bombastic finale involontary summarizes some of the album's problems. And fortunately, nothing can spoil the sheer radiance of Simmetry, Mew's masterpiece, still blessed with the thin, indelible croon of of American teen Becky Jarret: a pure cracker !
So what ? Why chosing " Frengers" as " Album Of The Month", if " Half The World Is Watching Me" is still Mew's best record to date in our opinion ? Just because Mew is a truly great band, still worthy of all the faith we put in them. Far too long in the making, " Frengers" may not be the decisive step ahead we were waiting for, nor the record that will give the band the international fame they really deserve. But it's just a matter of time... Be ready.
MEW :
LABEL (DK) :
LABEL ( Rest of the world):