Number 17
'No More Stories...' by Mew
Trotter’s Top Ten position : 4 in 2009
UK Chart high : 110 in 2009
Yes, Number 17 stormed into the UK charts at number 110 last year...sigh. Mew are probably my favourite under-promoted, little-known band. I just don't know whether I prefer them to remain under the radar or annoyed that they aren't as big as they deserve. Yes, they can sound like each band member is playing a different song at the same time, but they also have a keen ear for catchy, poppy hooks amongst the chaos. And their sometimes-complex sound can pay off big time after you really 'get it' after a few listens - who wants all music to be formulaic and derivative after all? 'No More Stories...' is the Danish 'indie-prog' band's fifth studio release and contains some blissful moments - singles 'Beach' with its sunny chorus and the stomping 'Repeaterbeater' being standouts. There's also a sense that something is going on beneath the surface of everything that Mew put out, perhaps due to melding dreamy, falsetto vocals with unsettling lyrics that seem perfectly innocent at first until you notice what they're actually talking about. Perfect example here being on 'Sometimes Life Isn't Easy' which even throws in a children's choir to join in for good measure to sing 'Hold my arms back when they beat me, leave me in the ditch when they kick me'...aaah how charming. Despite these darker moments the mood of the album as a whole is inventive and playful and never too straightforward much like the videos to their singles - proving that you can't beat a good '80's-style storyline with a few minutes of chat before the song starts.
Look at Introducing Palace Players ; Repeaterbeater ; Beach
Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go or the 'one from each album' version
No comments:
Post a Comment