Mew - Visuals (2017) [Hi-Res]

'Visuals' is Mew's Seventh album and arrives fairly quickly on the back of 2015 s + - album and came to fruition as front-man Jonas Bjerre explains; the live shows around that album saw us hit a creative peak, writing tracks on-the-road and the spark was lit. Breaking the normal cycle felt right and we wanted to make an album spontaneously retaining the energy we d generated on that world tour,rather than wait the normal three or four years.

Recorded and self-produced in Copenhagen, 'Visuals' was completed in under a year and sees Mew at their most concise, each song representing its own little chapter and narrative.

The slow-build euphoria of album opener, Nothingness And No Regrets, and expansive 80 s-style pop of The Wake Of Your Life countered by the discordant stomp of the intriguingly titled Candy Pieces All Smeared Out and blissful glide of In A Better Place, compete across eleven tracks that convey an irrepressible ebullience of a band on their debut album. Many of the newer tracks evolved in light of what was happening globally. It was pretty dark last year on many levels, so lyrically that definitely came into play, it s an important reminder to treasure the here and now, says Bjerre. Visuals feels like the culmination for one of rock s most ambitious and inventive groups.

Twenty years into their career, Visuals is the distinctive sound of Mew seizing the moment.