Jonas Bjerre, frontman of Danish four-piece Mew, apparently gets his best ideas in the middle of the night. This may explain the element of sleepy warmth that surrounds Special, but it is far from soporific, and should get you bouncing around in your pyjamas at the very least.
Beginning like an old eighties indie tune, with simple bass thud, guitar twang and fuzzy electronics, the hazy verses are then transcended by a shining chorus that forces you to rub your eyes and open your ears. The high pitched vocals rise like a short blast of JJ72's Mark Greaney, but are softer and, well, more likeable as they sweep and soar overhead.
Echoes of the old early nineties shoe-gazing movement are countered by beats that stumble over their shoelaces as the mellow melancholy is balanced perfectly by an infectious energy. There may be a retro feel to Mew's brand of trippy rock but it doesn't sound like the kind of overly-knowing display of self-indulgence which sees many bands lazily re-hashing their idols' ideas. Special is a likeable, perhaps even loveable, effort that deserves to do well and more than lives up to its name.
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