Mew (band)
Mew |
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Mew is a Danish alternative music band consisting of Jonas Bjerre, Bo Madsen, and Silas Utke Graae Jørgensen. Bassist Johan Wohlert was also a founding member of the band, but left in 2006. Whilst their music may be classified as indie and on occasion (like on And the Glass Handed Kites) progressive rock, they sometimes humorously refer to it themselves as "pretentious art rock". The band's guitarist Bo Madsen refers to the band as "the world's only indie stadium band".
History
Formed in 1994 in Hellerup, an upper-class suburb of Copenhagen, they had a profound impact on the Danish indie scene, emerging alongside the likes of Carpark North, Swan Lee and Saybia, amongst others, in 2003. At the 2003 Danish Music Critics Award Show, Mew won the awards for "Album of the Year" and "Band of the Year".
Their first major commercial success came with Frengers, released in 2003, described as "a work of quiet brilliance, aiming for the epic without straying into the bombastic, offering cerebral arrangements while keeping things accessible."[2] The album was well received. After a European tour supporting R.E.M. they began to attract wider attention. Their next album And the Glass Handed Kites was released in Denmark on 19 September 2005, in the United Kingdom and rest of Europe on 26 September, and in the United States on 25 July 2006. The album received critical acclaim, with Mew described as making "dreamy thunderstorm pop".[3] They were MTV Asia "Buzz-Worthy" as of January, 2006, and at the DMA06 (Danish Music Awards) they took home 4 statuettes.
On 11 April 2006, Wohlert left the band to spend more time with his girlfriend, Pernille Rosendahl from the now dissolved band Swan Lee, who was to give birth to their baby boy in May 2006. The two would later go on to form a duo, The Storm.
The band tours with Nick Watts (formerly of UK indie band Headswim) as their keyboardist, and Bastian Juel (who used to act as a studio and live bassist for Swan Lee and also played bass on Tina Dico's EP Far) recently joined them as their live bassist. However, he is not an official replacement for Johan and the band has said they will return to the studio with just the three original members.
The band finished touring for And the Glass Handed Kites in the summer of 2007. They returned to Brooklyn, New York in May 2008 in order to begin recording their next record, and tapped Rich Costey (who produced their breakthrough album, Frengers) once again as producer.
The band's fifth album No More Stories... was released on August 17 in Scandinavia, August 24th in the UK, and August 25th in the US[4].
The band supported Nine Inch Nails for various tour dates with Jane's Addiction in Europe 2009.
Discography
Albums
Studio albums
| Year | Details | Peak chart position | Certifications (sales thresholds) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEN [5] |
FIN [6] |
NOR [7] |
SWE [8] |
UK [9][10] | |||
| 1997 | A Triumph for Man
|
8 | — | — | — | — | |
| 2000 | Half the World Is Watching Me
|
34 | — | — | — | — | |
| 2003 | Frengers | 2 | 36 | 6 | — | 102 | |
| 2005 | And The Glass Handed Kites
|
2 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 129 | |
| 2009 | No More Stories...1
|
1 | 2 | 2 | 41 | 110 | |
1 The name in its entirety is: 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.
EPs
- The Zookeeper's Boy EP (2006)
- Live Session EP (2007) Released exclusively on iTunes
- No More Stories EP (2009)
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart position | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEN [11] |
FIN [12] |
NOR [13] |
SWE [14] |
UK [9] | |||
| 1997 | "She Came Home for Christmas" [a] | — | — | — | — | 55 | A Triumph for Man |
| 2000 | "King Christian" | — | — | — | — | — | Half the World Is Watching Me |
| "Her Voice Is Beyond Her Years" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Mica" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Am I Wry? No" [b] | — | — | 16 | — | 47 | ||
| 2003 | "Comforting Sounds" | — | — | — | — | 48 | Frengers |
| "156" | — | — | — | 11 | — | ||
| 2005 | "Apocalypso" | — | — | — | — | 75 | And the Glass Handed Kites |
| "Special" | — | — | — | — | 46 | ||
| 2006 | "Why Are You Looking Grave?" | 20 | — | — | — | 53 | |
| "The Zookeeper's Boy" | — | — | 13 | — | 80 | ||
| 2009 | "Introducing Palace Players" [c] | — | — | — | — | — | No More Stories... |
- Notes
Other singles
| Year | Single | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | "I Should Have Been a Tsin-Tsi for You" | A Triumph for Man |
B-Sides
| Song Title |
|---|
| Animals Of Many Kinds |
| Bones (Song For Albert) |
| City Voices |
| Drown |
| Forever And Ever |
| In Time Do You Forget? (Daydream) |
| Killer |
| Like Chaser |
| Like Papercuts |
| Misplaced |
| Nothing Is Red |
| Quietly |
| Safe As Houses |
| Succubus |
| Superfriends |
| That Time On The Ledge |
| Watch This Space |
| Where Have All The Geysers Gone? |
| Wherefore Are You Not There? |
| Shiroi Kuchiburu No Izanai |
| King Christian (New Version) |
| Mica (New Version) |
| She Came Home for Christmas (Acoustic) |
| Swimmer's Chant |
| Start |
| Owl |
| Nervous |
Videography
DVDs
- Live in Copenhagen (2006)
Music videos
- 1996 "I Should Have Been A Tsin-Tsi For You"
- 2001 "Mica"
- 2003 "Am I Wry? No"
- 2003 "156"
- 2003 "She Came Home for Christmas"
- 2003 "That Time On The Ledge" (Unofficial music video)
- 2003 "Comforting Sounds"
- 2005 "Apocalypso" (Internet promo video only)
- 2005 "Special"
- 2006 "The Zookeeper's Boy"
- 2006 "Why Are You Looking Grave?"
- 2009 "Introducing Palace Players"
- 2009 "Repeaterbeater"
See also
References
- ^ http://stereogum.com/archives/album-art/mew-are-back-go-full-fiona-apple-with-this-new-alb_069752.html
- ^ Bang. Sony. 2003
- ^ Mew: And the Glass-Handed Kites: Pitchfork Record Review
- ^ http://pitchfork.com/news/35346-new-mew-album-details-extremely-long-title-crazy-tracklist/
- ^ "Denmark: search - Mew albums". danishcharts.com. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ "Finland: search - Mew albums". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ "Norway: search - Mew albums". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ "Sweden: search - Mew albums". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ a b "UK Chartlog : M : M – My Vitriol". zobbel.de. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ "UK Chartlog: CLUK Update 5.09.2009 (wk35)". zobbel.de. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
- ^ "Denmark: search - Mew singles". danishcharts.com. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ "Finland: search - Mew singles". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ "Norway: search - Mew singles". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ "Sweden: search - Mew singles". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2009-06-03.