Mew – No More Stories…

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

Holy long title, Batman! Not since Fiona Apple‘s When The Pawn… has there been such a long album title from a musical act that actually matters (there have been titles longer than When The Pawn… since its release, but they were a Soulwax remix album and a Chumbawamba album…who knew the latter was still around?).  And while a long title seems pretentious, Mew‘s newest effort reads like welcomed poetry, while bands like say…Chumbawamba (there is a name I never thought I’d mention once, let alone twice, in a review)…are not worth the ink. But that’s enough about toilet paper.

Less title talk, more album talk; No More Stories… is the first effort in five years from the Danish outfit, meaning art kids everywhere are shitting themselves in anticipation.  It is evident that the band has changed in the last while, as the differences between No More Stories… and the band’s previous release And the Glass Handed Kites are quite obvious.  The 2005 opus was one suite, 2009 sees an album of individual songs.  Additionally, the mood on No More Stories… is a lot lighter than the fairly cavernous Kites.

But it seems that the changes the band went through yield negative results rather than positive ones.  The one-long-song idea of their previous album suited their arty prog nature; it allowed them to develop and expand on previous ideas, giving the album an ‘epic’ feel, while No More Stories… feels a bit choppy as a whole (although the intermissions are nicely placed).  That same conceptual idea allowed them to delve deeper into the darkness and bring out some interesting and frightening (for an indie band) musical themes, while No More Stories… engages the listener in a roller coaster ride of emotions.  Ultimately, the best songs on No More Stories… are the darker ones; tracks like “Tricks of the Trade” and the long (and worth it) “Cartoons and Macrame Wounds” benefit from the heavy basslines that drive them throughout.

No More Stories…‘s effect on you is going to be based on one question – do you enjoy the happier upbeat stylings of Mew? Or the jaded and vulnerable side? If it’s the first, this may just be your album of the year, if not, it is still a decent addition to the band’s catalogue, but does not compete with its predecessor.

And if you’re wondering where the album’s title comes from, take a listen to”Hawaii Dream”, which ironically, is one of the shortest songs on the disc.

(6.9/10)

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