Mew

Mew, Pure Reason Revolution at Nottingham The Rescue Rooms, Wed 27 Jul

Review by Dom Gourlay

Sometimes a change is as good as a rest. Or in the case of Danish quintet Mew, more like something of a re-invention...»

The Rescue Rooms

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Mew

• Jonas Bjerre - vocals, guitar
• Bo Madsen - guitar
• Johan Wohlert - bass (left April 2006)
• Silas Graae - drums

All pop stories start somewhere. Some start in bars, some in clubs, some in moshpits. For Mew, this particular story started with the end of the world.

The end of the world on celluloid that is. Brought together at school whilst making a film on the destruction of nature, Jonas Bjerre, Bo Madsen, Johan Wohlert, and Silas Graae formed a friendship over the earth's demise that was destined to flourish. Although the end result was somewhat clumsy, the bond built on their shared interests in music and film was to lead to the creation of Mew.

Mew’s armoury of tunes began as straightforward homages to their own heroes (Dinosaur Jr, My Bloody Valentine) but swiftly blossomed into a sound that was uniquely Mew. Their chances of clinching a deal in Denmark however seemed remote, as they were musically out of step with a record industry obsessed with plastic pop and Aqua. So Mew took the initiative and formed their own label Evil Office and set about releasing their own material. In setting up Evil Office, Mew were doing more than taking matters into their own hands. Johan remembers the feeling that they were “making a stand.. We learned loads and, most importantly, it gave us the opportunity to sign to anybody else, should we get an offer."

After releasing two albums, A Triumph For Man and Half the World Is Watching Me and with a great live reputation it didn’t take long for Epic Records, and subsequently Columbia/Sony BMG, to pick up on the buzz. Mew kept their Evil Office imprint and their first 'big' single 'Am I Wry? No' and follow-up'She Came Home For Christmas' were both released twice, and both flirted with the top 40. Whilst it received great reviews the subsequent album, Frengers, made little impact on the music-buying public's consciousness.

Although Sony have a reputation for being hard-nosed with acts that don't find instant success, they retained the services of Mew and fourth album Mew and the Glass Handed Kites was released in late 2005. Bassist Johan Wohlert, meanwhile, announced the birth of his first child, and subsequently left the band in April 2006 to dedicate himself to his family full-time.

Pure Reason Revolution

PURE REASON REVOLUTION formed at Westminster University through a shared love of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Super Furry Animals, Beach Boys and CSN&Y, and the quartet now aim to emulate their heroes and write a follow up to Dark Side Of The Moon.

Their debut single 'Apprentice Of The Universe' was released in 2004 through the Poptones label. Now signed to Sony / BMG, Pure Reason... release the 12 minute epic 'The Bright Amabassadors Of Morning' in April 2005.