Denmarks Mew gives prog-rock a good name their 2005 release, And the Glass Handed Kite, a critical success, was atmospheric and moody in a beautifully spacey way. Despite its melancholy poem of a title, this years No More Stories/ Are Told Today/ Im Sorry/ They Washed Away/ No More Stories/ The World is Grey/ Im Tired/ Lets Wash Away is actually brighter, lighter, and even more earnest than previous efforts. On Sometimes Life Isnt Easy, frontman Jonas Bjerre accurately sings, Dont you know sometimes/ When it feels like someone put a hex on you? and the music that accompanies his words is, in fact, spellbinding. Backed by springy synths, clean dance beats, and the occasional hard-rock riff, songs like Beach and Repeaterbeater have a simplicity that makes them engaging the songs are ardent but avoid being bombastic. Mew is definitely a band that takes itself very seriously a fact that could be annoying if their songs werent so huge and so cinematic. E. THOMPSON
Thu., Dec. 10, 8 p.m., 2009
