Review: Mew – No More Stories…
Mew – No More Stories… (2009) [Columbia] // Grade: C
Mew is either tedious or totally brilliant, but it depends on who you talk to. There’s very rarely any in-between: either you’re a die-hard fan wired for sweeping atmosphere and 15-minute songs or a skeptic easily irritated by the prog-rock indulgence of it. Few people (at least those who give Mew a fighting chance) consider them outright boring; there’s just too much going on for it to be a snoozefest.
But then came No More Stories...
The album starts off promising enough. Opener “New Terrain” slams in on a loud-quiet-loud vibe, with individual tracks running backwards (play the song in reverse and you get the hidden “Nervous”). Then “Introducing Palace Players” with its 9/4 time signature and incredibly dance-y guitar loop.
But eventually every song, no matter how cool the intro, how catchy the verse, builds into a similar, Mew-characteristic wall of sound. It’s not necessarily the same song over and over—they are different in their proggy little ways—but rather the same climactic structure. You know when that build’s coming. You know the whole thing is about to erupt into a grand chorus with lots of noodling. And you know it’s going to involve the same synth pad that’s washed in to signal the build on every other song.
The only things that keep No More Stories… from dissolving into a total yawn are the individual parts’ intricacies. Nearly every song features one really awesome element: the pseudo-harpsichord on “Tricks of the Trade”, the gentle stomp of “Sometimes Life Isn’t Easy”, the beachy melody on “Hawaii”. It’s just that the sum of these parts doesn’t make up for the bore of what surrounds them. No More Stories… isn’t a terrible album (in fact, I’m sure it gets more tolerable after several listens, if you care enough to try), it’s just really unremarkable. Which, come to think of it, might be worse.
August 18th, 2009 at 9:48 am
This album was a huge disappointment, especially after And the Glass Handed Kites. What’s worse is watching a good band squander an opportunity of not releasing an album to their potential at the exact time when the climate musically would have greeted it with open arms.
August 18th, 2009 at 7:14 pm
Beautiful cover art.
August 18th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Are you serious?
August 19th, 2009 at 9:20 am
15 minute songs? Well, kites had an average of about 3.5 minute per song and the songs on Frengers were somewhere in that area too. Sounds like you don’t quite know what you are talking about here, really. And “their proggy little ways”, come on, seriously?
Fair enough, you don’t like NMS and it isn’t for everyone, I agree, but you might do well to steer clear of the clichés of reviewing by assigning labels from the previous album. Try dream pop, space pop or even dare to be original – coin a phrase, because prog just doesn’t cut it for NMS. It’s lazy and derivative.
August 21st, 2009 at 6:41 am
Sorry, but i couldn’t agree less with the review. NMS is absolutely everything but boring. Sure you need to listen with an open mind – maybe you are just one of those people that doesn’t quite get what MEW is all about. So as you fall into that category you couldn’t really justify reviewing this marvelous wonder of an album that NMS really are – if you are into Mew, that is…
August 21st, 2009 at 7:41 am
@More Of Less: I get what you’re trying to say, but sorry, elements of it still felt prog to me.
August 21st, 2009 at 8:06 am
Thomas: I’ve listened to this album a bunch of times now hoping it would open up. I also very much like Mew and “get” Mew. This is just not their finest moment… the album drags on and is while not awful, is mediocre for most of it.
August 21st, 2009 at 9:41 am
Pal took the words out of my mouth. It’s not terrible (there were several things I really liked about it), it’s just mediocre.
August 21st, 2009 at 10:23 am
I guess I can’t talk anybody into liking loving the album, if its not their “cup of tea”. @MPtCrook I think it is admirable of Mew to not release “and the Glasshanded Kites ver. 2″ They don’t care about chart-succes or recognition by numbers –
Jonas Bjerre talked about the concept of “breaking-through” on danish tv the other day and for them it is not important to have a massive commercial breakthrough. They are not afraid of alienating their audience, infact the “strangeness” is part of their identity. NMS trace back to their earlier records, but also point in a new direction. I see their new record as part of a beatiful flower with each record being another leaf blossoming with new color.
I LOVE NMS can’t find any fault with it – 6 out 6 thats my review!
September 1st, 2009 at 2:04 am
sad story coming from a sad person. oops, i meant ‘reviewer’..