Mew
Band form
1994
Mew - Hong Kong's Music Zone E-Max 18.09.17 Live Review
By Lauren Mullineaux in Music Reviews on 29 September 2017
Mew, the Danish troupe not the Pokemon, have been around for over two decades now and have polished their live set to match their image. Tonight their set traverses the highs of their generally well-received career, splicing the heavier moments with their glossy pop in a truly satiating way. The quintet don't exactly exude fun on stage, but a Hong Kong audience ever hungry for live music laps up their unique visual backdrop and Jonas Bjerre's lemon-drop vocals nonetheless.
Mew are a moody bunch. Clad in black shirts and silence they let their technique do the talking for them. Angsty guitar driven track 'Apocalypso' bleeds into 'Saviours of Jazz Ballet', which explodes into fits of retro space-age opera before sudden chasms engulf the room.
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Dom Gourlay's Top 10 Albums Of 2015
By Dom Gourlay in Music / Festivals on 22 December 2015
Dom Gourlay picks out his top ten albums of 2015
10. Girl Band - Holding Hands With Jamie
Possibly the most eagerly anticipated debut from an underground band in recent times. The Dublin foursome's first offering did not disappoint, if not quite matching the intensity of their live shows. Bristling with visceral brutality somewhere between the polemic racket of Whitehouse and awkward disdain of The Fall, 'Holding Hands With Jamie' is an uneasy yet rewarding listen.
9. Surf City - Jekyll Island
Despite having formed over a decade ago, this New Zealand outfit have been more about quality than quantity when it comes to releases. So it should come as no surprise that 'Jekyll Island', their third long player, represents arguably their finest body of work to date.
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Mew - + - Album Review
By Dom Gourlay in Music Reviews on 23 April 2015
Six years might not sound that long, but a lot can change over such a period of time. Take Mew, for example. In 2009, their fifth long player and first as a three piece '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' (excuse the long title) came out to a wave of positive reviews. Having discarded the avant-garde, post-rock stylings of its predecessors for a more dance-infused, pop-based sound, it should have heralded their long-awaited and richly deserved breakthrough into the mainstream. Sadly, it didn't. Which, for a band whose ambitions and aspirations stretched far beyond any conceived limitations from the outset, must have been difficult to take.
So, returning to the cryptic title '+-', it could be argued that it refers to turning a negative situation into a positive one; overcoming a dark period with a degree of optimism. Brimming with a newfound confidence and a multitude of ideas to match, '+-' was born and over the ensuing eighteen months, exquisitely crafted into arguably Mew's finest hour since 2003's 'Frengers'.
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Mew, No More Stories Album Review
By Jordan Dowling in Music Reviews on 13 August 2009
Review of Mew's album No More Stories released through Columbia.