Mew?

Recently I came across Mew. First off, this has nothing to do with Pokemon. I was browsing for music and one artist name surprised me. The song title seemed randomly lame - Zookeeper's Boy. At first play I didn't pay much attention, but the next day, I decided to give it another play, still intrigued by the name Mew. Then I fell down the well. And I wasn't disappointed after loading a number of Mew songs on Grooveshark radio. Many artists only seem to be likable for their singles, but one way to look at Mew is that the band's biggest single lies in all the songs combined.

I researched, and Mew turned out to be a Danish quartet. Surprise there. If my life has anything to do with Denmark, it's only because I have key chain from my mom's visit there long ago. I guess now the only other thing is this band. If you're Danish, no offense.

I'm gonna cut to the chase.

Mew is an ambient band. Pop vocals join the guitars and drums in layers of distortion and reverb with other electronic effects here and there. All that doesn't really make it pop anymore. On their four studio albums from 1997 to 2005, a few of the songs stand out, while the rest provide background resonance, calming and hardly memorable. When hearing some of the tracks for the second or third time I would say “wait... I don't even remember this one.” The way they blend together, it's hard to pay attention but still satisfying. I've dared myself to see how long it takes for me to get tired of their music. After a few hours of listening in a single day, I needed a break. But coming back in a day or two, I could easily listen again. The songs on the whole are very shapeless and weightless – they just don't get old. Mew present that ambient sound going from dull to mellow to intense in a way most bands of the category don't.

Who makes it Mew? Jonas – vocals and guitar, Bo – guitar, Johan – bass (he had a newborn and left the group in 2005), Silas – drums. As the legend goes, their work began when the four childhood friends reunited in their late teens in the year 1994. “Mew” was taken from an English dictionary defined as the cry of a cat or a seagull.

Most Mew songs are in English, but you can tell the vocal difference from American bands; the accent may sound closer to U.K. Artists – no surprise. But this distant vocal quality is what makes Mew unique. The songs very much feel like a fantasy world, and as mysterious as its creatures are, we still relate. They're just innocent outsiders trying to reach out. Note, in a few songs Mew feature random female singers; you know it when you hear a voice that's ridiculously high to be male, even in Jonas's case.

If you listen to them and label them as a chick band – sure – they sound like one, Jonas's falsetto does that. Their videos and lyrics clearly target the female audience. Doesn't mean the music is not for guys. Mew is not some girl hype on the same turf with the Jonas Brothers. Like the Zohan's Paul Mitchell magazine in a drawer – Mew may be a secret channel for that sensitive side we all have. Or dudes, if not that, it could still get you a nice pick-up: “oh really? I love Mew too.”

As for their influences, sources mention My Bloody Valentine, the Pixies, Dinosaur Jr., Genesis, Prince... Guitarist Bo has mentioned the Red House Painters as his favorite band. After listening to a number of tracks by the Red House, I realized that, if you strip away all the decorations Mew puts up, the two often sound very much alike. And RHP is by no means a feminine band.

Mew has achieved recognition in the U.S. with their last album out, And the Glass Handed Kites. But they are coming out with a new album this June. And time will tell, it may be their biggest one yet.