MEW FRENGERS ALBUM EVIL OFFICE, SONY RELEASE: APRIL 7, 2003 REVIEW: MAY 3, 2003

Great guitars, pounding bass, intelligent keyboards and a low-key and whining vocalist - almost no need to say I am hooked right from brilliant opening track "Am I Wry? No". Have Radiohead and My Bloody Valentine teamed up with Swedish pop gods Kent? I think and check my band-info again. No, Mew are Danish - and a good pop group! In my world that is the musical equivalent of being a Swedish cowboy. Not bloody likely!
But Mew are good. Great in some aspects, as a matter of fact. Apart from opening "Am I..." there are a number of fabulous songs on "Frengers (Not Quite Friend But Not Quite Strangers)", even though both the album and the tunes are somewhat uneven. At its best the album is atmospheric and dark, but with catchy tunes. In the weaker tracks it is a bit boring and too far out there. The best song on the album is without a doubt the closing "Comforting Sounds" which, with it’s ending crescendo of guitars and keyboard, resembles both Kent and bob hund - another Swedish act, plus adding something of their own. A Swede that actually appears on the album is vocalist Stina Nordenstam - that alone a reason to buy "Frengers".
I think Mew can become huge. It’s just a matter of picking the songs for the next album a bit more carefully and smooth out the edges a bit. Radiohead - beware!

KALLE MALMSTEDT