While Mew may sound like a cute twee band named after the flautist’s kitten, banking on that expectation may reward you with a couple of claw marks across your face. Returning two years after the release of the sheer brilliance that was Frengers, the Danish quartet jump back into the fray with And The Glass Handed Kites. Gone for the most part are the walls of guitar wash, but it’s still arctic in Mew’s world, a fact which is crystal clear in their music. Remaining widescreen in approach, And The Glass Handed Kites is momentous in scope and scale, bringing to mind Scandanavian brethren Sigur Ros, were the Icelandic geniuses taken into a laboratory and injected with the DNA of Radiohead, Kent, and Placebo. And, as always, the centerpiece of everything that is Mew are the gossamer-winged vocals of frontman and guitarist Jonas Bjerre. Angelic, skyscraping, and soul-shifting, his voice lifts each and every song toward the heavens, buoyed by his own six-string riffology. “Apocalypso”, “The Zookeeper’s Boy”, and first UK single “Special” are all amazing, and the four-piece even bring in the contrastingly gravelly tones of band hero J. Mascis for a guest appearance on “Why Are You Looking Grave”. It’s a sonic dichotomy that works wonders, the glass-gargling sounds of the ex-Dinosaur Jr. leader laying the foundation, while Bjerre’s singing dances delicately over the top. While not as immediate as its predecessor, And The Glass Handed Kites is nevertheless a wondrous listening experience, just one that takes a little bit of work to get through the shell to the tasty nutmeats inside. Get cracking.

Mew
BMG UK

1. Mew’s Frengers To See US Release
2. Heavy Handed Peace And Love
3. Live – Seymour Glass Make New Friends At Rothko
4. J Mascis Hospitalized After Bus Crash In Sweden
5. The Glass Family Heads East