Review of No More Stories… by Mew

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. And that would be the name of Mew’s fifth studio album, a poetic and admittedly lengthy  introduction to serve as a lyrical prelude of things to come. The Danish electro-pop band proves to be eyeballs deep in this one, with fourteen tracks of switched-up tempos and  alt-rock detours, with absolutely no shortage of ambiguously woven phrases.

For all of that, however, No More Stories… requires at least a full listen or two (or three, or even four – repeat as necessary) in its entirety before wondering why the lyrics weren’t included. Granted, it’s interesting enough to listen to, but one thing becomes clear – enveloping though the music is, decipherable its message is not. When it comes to cleverly put-together music, it seems almost wrong to merely express that it sounds good, even if it is the case.

Of the lyrical truths of life we could catch – “It’s a movie set / It’s a world constructed“  (“Hawaii”)  – it is in the ambiance in which Mew rocks the core, especially concerning the swirling effects of “New Terrain” – which, if played backwards, apparently results in a hidden track entitled “Nervous”. Also which, now that we think of it, is a little scary in a good way. And if you were really wondering what they were going for with the album’s title, listen to “Hawaii Dream” and the pieces will fit together.

Mew gets high marks for their trance-like vibes  throughout track list; however, the neither here nor there pseudo-rock bookending the album feels a bit out of place. The bulk of No More Stories… seems to be an attempt to veer the listener away from rock in its most standard form, so we were a little confused by the presence. Overall, we’ll chalk it up to a lot of layers that require a lot of digesting, aka willful multiple listens to get the gist of it. If there is a gist to get, that is. Perhaps it is all about what you feel, and not making sense of what you think. If so, that’s fine by us, too.

“No More Stories…” is available on Columbia Records/Sony BMG.

Tracklisting

1. New Terrain
2. Introducing Palace Players
3. Beach
4. Repeaterbeater
5. Intermezzo 1
6. Silas The Magic Car
7. Cartoons and Macramé Wounds
8. Hawaii Dream
9. Hawaii
10. Vaccine
11. Tricks of the Trade
12. Intermezzo 2
13. Sometimes Life Isn’t Easy
14. Reprise