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All pop stories start somewhere. Some start in bars, some in clubs, some in moshpits. For Mew, this particular story starts with the end of the world......
The end of the world on celluloid that is. Brought together at school whilst making a film on the destruction |
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| Why Are You Looking Grave, Pt. 1
by Mew
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Label: Sony Bmg Europe
2006-02-07
Media: Audio CD
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Tracklisting:
1. Why Are You Looking Grave? (Radio Edit)
2. Forever & Ever
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All pop stories start somewhere. Some start in bars, some in clubs, some in moshpits. For Mew, this particular story starts with the end of the world......
The end of the world on celluloid that is. Brought together at school whilst making a film on the destruction of nature, Jonas Bjerre, Bo Madsen, Johan Wohlert, and Silas Graae formed a friendship over the earth's demise that was destined to flourish. Although the end result was somewhat clumsy, the bond built on their shared interests in music and film was to lead to the creation of Mew.
"It took a while to get the band together and to begin with we didn't know what we were doing, but that's turned out to be our greatest asset," vocalist Jonas explains, his talking voice every bit as fragile and understated as the one you'll hear on the records.
"We didn't know how to play other people's songs so we thought we might as well play our own. We knew almost immediately that we were onto something."
As did everyone who heard and fell in love with their music. Mew's armoury of tunes began as straightforward homages to their own heroes (Dinosaur Jr, My Bloody Valentine) but swiftly blossomed into a sound that was uniquely Mew. Their chances of clinching a deal in Denmark however seemed remote, as they found themselves to be musically out of step with a record industry obsessed with plastic pop and Aqua. So Mew took the initiative and formed their own label, Evil Office, and set about releasing their own material. In setting up Evil Office Mew were doing more than taking matters into their own hands. Johan remembers the feeling that they were "making a stand that the Danish industry had failed. We learned loads and, most importantly, it gave us the opportunity to sign to anybody else, should we get an offer."
With a live reputation like Mew's (fuelled by Roskilde appearances, support slots and their own headline tours), it didn't take long for Epic to pick up on the buzz.
Am I Wry? No, Mew's first limited edition single released in September 2002, is typical of their hefty catalogue - more hooks than most bands can muster across an entire album and a theme of development and progression rarely heard outside classical music. That Jonas's lyricism is the work of a classic pop storyteller is in no doubt ("Am I Wry? No" and "156" are about the same, failed relationship), but the depth and strength of the music itself tells yet another story. On stage the Mew experience extends even further with Jonas' own short films (put together in Denmark's Video Filmlab studios while the rest of the city sleeps) drawing out each song's essence, embellishing its individuality and adding a third edge to Mew's songs.
"We think of a journey whenever we write," explains Jonas, "creating those inner pictures and inner landscapes in your head. We try to take the listener on a journey and by the end of the song they're in a total other place."
Other high points - both on and offstage - include the anthemic "Snowbrigade", the string-laden tear-jerker "She Came Home For Christmas" and "Her Voice Is Beyond Her Years", a duet with Stina Nordenstam. Each twist and turn of Mew's musical arsenal is wonderfully unexpected and impossible to second-guess. As Bo explains:
"We're quite lucky with the way we sound, because even before Jonas' vocals come in you know it's a Mew song. But at the same time you never know what's coming. So many play the way they're taught to play - we've never been taught anything more than a couple of guitar lessons between us. I learned a blues solo once, it still haunts my dreams! The problem with the blues is that you always know what's coming next. What you want from music is to be surprised."
Am I Wry? No and Mew's second limited release the aptly titled She Came Home For Christmas, both won outstanding reviews, with many critics agreeing that if there had been any justice She Came Home would have made the Xmas No. 1 slot. Mew ended the year with two well received singles under their belts and a growing reputation for compelling and dynamic live shows.
March 2003 saw the release of their first commercial single Comforting Sounds, the nine-minute slow burn finale to the album and the climax to their live set. Already a favourite amongst critics the single took the NME's Single Of The Week slot and was hailed by the paper as "a staggering eruption of beauty that defies conventional description". Recent sell-out gigs too at the London's Metro and 93 Ft East had audiences queuing round the block and chanting the band's name throughout the set.
"Whatever it is that's going on in the mind of Mew, we know one thing: it sounds incredible" enthused the NME's reviewer.
With debut album Frengers released in April, initial responses to which have been rapturous - "..full of wonder" (Time Out), "glorious" (NME) and "a work of quiet brilliance, a multi-textured mini masterpiece, a winner" (Bang)
- it's shaping up to be a remarkable year for Mew....
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