No More Stories... Explained

No More Stories...
Type:studio
Artist:Mew
Cover:Mew-No-More-Stories-Cover.jpg
Released:17 August 2009
Recorded:2008
Studio:Brooklyn Recording and Electric Lady Studios, New York City, and Evil Office, Copenhagen, Denmark
Genre:Alternative rock, indie rock, dream pop
Length:53:36
Label:Evil Office, Columbia
Producer:Rich Costey, Mew
Prev Title:And the Glass Handed Kites
Prev Year:2005
Next Title:+ −
Next Year:2015

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, often shortened down to No More Stories..., is the fifth studio album by the Danish alternative rock band Mew. It was released in Scandinavia on 17 August, the United Kingdom on 24 August, the United States on 25 August, and Japan on 26 August 2009.[1]

No More Stories... is produced by Rich Costey who also produced their breakthrough album Frengers, and is the band's first album as an official trio after bass player Johan Wohlert left to spend time with his family,[2] before rejoining the band prior to the release of + −. It is the band's only album to not feature Wohlert.

According to lead vocalist Jonas Bjerre, this album is happier, "dancier", and more upbeat than its predecessor, And the Glass Handed Kites, which had a dark theme of fear.

Bjerre explained the unusually long title of the album to Gaffa: "We originally wanted a short title for the album but we couldn't find sufficiently redemptive words. The final title is the lyrics to the short intermezzo 'Hawaii Dream', and when Bo [Madsen] suggested that we used the complete text as a title it didn't take him long to convince Silas [Utke Graae Jørgensen] and myself. It was like finding the missing piece in a puzzle".[3]

"Introducing Palace Players", the first single off No More Stories... was first released on their MySpace page on 28 May 2009. It features Swirlies vocalist/guitarist Damon Tutunjian on bass guitar. Other than its inclusion as the lead-off track on the No More Stories EP, it has not been released as a physical single.

The opening track, "New Terrain", if played backwards reveals another song entitled "Nervous" which is added as a bonus track to the vinyl edition of the album. The lyrics were posted as a poem on their Danish record company Evil Office's website.[4]

Critical reception

No More Stories... was met with universal acclaim upon release. The album was extremely well received in the band's native Denmark upon release, getting top scores in reviews from most music magazines, including Gaffa and Soundvenue.[5] Website Metacritic calculated an average score of 79 out of 100 from 17 professional reviews.[6] The A.V. Club gave it an A (the highest note), praising that "Mew really does inhabit a place where few contemporaries can be found." The independent review site Pitchfork Media gave the album an 8.1/10, citing that "Mew has succeeded in developing a good sound from some of the least hip ingredients imaginable", while comparing the album to progressive rock bands of the late 1970s. British music weekly NME gave the album 8/10, going on to say that, "Always inventive, often beautiful and occasionally totally sublime, Mew have always stood out from the pack." Slant Magazine gave the album 3 out of 5 stars, stating that "Mew is not as thoughtful or smart as they think they are, but the force of their conviction is inspiring."[7]

Personnel

Mew

Additional musicians

Technical

Charts

Weekly charts

Charts (2009)! scope="col"
Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[8] 110

Notes and References

  1. Web site: New Mew Album Details: Extremely Long Title, Crazy Tracklist . Pitchfork . 2009-05-15 . 2012-03-03.
  2. Web site: Exclusive Album Preview: Mew . Spin. 2012-03-03.
  3. Mikkel . Elbech . Mew - eskapismens musikalske malermestre . . Danish . 6 August 2009 . 4 September 2009.
  4. Web site: Nervous . Evil Office . 21 January 2010.
  5. Web site: Jesper . Borchmann . Mew – fuldendt brobygning . Soundvenue . Danish . 14 August 2009 . 3 September 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090820063911/http://soundvenue.com/anmeldelser/2009/05/18/mew-fuldendt-brobygning . 20 August 2009 .
  6. Web site: No More Stories.... Metacritic. 2009-12-08.
  7. Slant Review . . Jesse . Cotaldo . 2009-08-24 . 2009-09-10.
  8. Web site: Chart Log UK: M - My Vitriol . zobbel.de . 31 January 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150721043340/http://zobbel.de/cluk/CLUK_M.HTM . 21 July 2015 .