Mew have never taken the easy route through a song. In fact, the Danish rockers – purveyors of idiosyncratic indie-rock with elements of prog, jazz and whatever else you’re having – have been wilfully obtuse throughout their career.
Their fourth album continues that trend, Jonas Bjerre's otherworldly, elvish vocals driving the hymnal Water Slides and the brisk jangle of The Night Believer, while Bloc Party's Russell Lissack brings the spiky guitars on My Complications.
Occasionally, things become a little too ambitious for their own good, particularly the pompous Rows, which sorely lacks the deftness of touch that was audible in Mew's earlier material.
It’s a mostly enjoyable comeback after a five-year hiatus, but it’s not a particularly memorable one.
