‘And The Glass Handed Kites’ is not only one of this year’s best albums it’s probably one of the most majestic of recent years. Of course, Mew always had it in them as their previous work ‘Frengers’ displayed a band not content to play it by the rules. Jonas Bjerre voice is their calling card; operatic in scope it is no less special than Jon Thor Birgisson’s from Sigur Ros. Mew play their guitars with the persuasiveness of My Bloody Valentine but in their quieter moments they can pluck melodies as sweet as ripened satsuma’s. ‘Comforting Sounds’ reveals itself in 3 stages, the calm disarming opening, the more robust centre and a close that pelts guitar riffs with the velocity of a hurricane. That the band achieves symmetry with these polar elements is a mark of their genius. Denmark must be one hell of a proud country to have produced this group as their influence will likely be felt in rock circles for decades to come. KD

Mew - Comforting Sounds

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Album: Frengers
Year: 2003
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