And The Glass Handed Kites

''And the Glass Handed Kites'' is the fourth studio album by Danish band Mew, released in the United Kingdom on 19 September 2005, and in the United States on 25 July 2006.Mew – And The Glass Handed Kites: Mew: Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.com. Retrieved 3 August 2011.

Overview

''And the Glass Handed Kites'' was composed as a single continuous suite. Critics have likened the album to one long song due to the tracks' unnoticed transitions.

''And the Glass Handed Kites sound has been compared to Sigur Rós, Dinosaur Jr., Ride, and progressive rock.Abebe, Nitsuh
Album Reviews: Mew: And the Glass Handed Kites
Pitchfork Media. 8 August 2006. Retrieved 2 August 2011.

''And the Glass Handed Kites'' peaked at number 2 on Denmark's Tracklisten. Four singles were released for the album: "Apocalypso", "Special", "Why Are You Looking Grave?" and "The Zookeeper's Boy". Despite originally not having been released as a single, the track "The Zookeeper's Boy" gained massive popularity with the biggest radio station in Denmark, P3, reaching number 1 on the radio's Tjeklisten charts from 9 October 2005 through 6 November 2005.P3 – Tjelisten 9/10 2005
P3. Retrieved 3 August 2011.P3 – Tjelisten 6/11 2005
P3. Retrieved 3 August 2011. The track was voted "Hit of the Year" by ''Gaffa'' readers, with another Mew song ("Special") coming in second.Tuxen, Henrik
GAFFA-Prisen 2005: Mew og Coldplay topscorere
Gaffa. 4 January 2006. Retrieved 2 August 2011. "The Zookeeper's Boy" was later released as a single in 2006.MEW – THE ZOOKEEPER'S BOY (SONG)
. danishcharts.dk. Retrieved 2 August 2011.

The Japanese bonus track, "Shiroi Kuchibiruno Izanai" is an alternate version of "White Lips Kissed" with the lyrics and title translated into Japanese.

Reception

''And the Glass Handed Kites'' has been well received by critics. James Christopher Monger of AllMusic gave the album a positive review, writing "Fans of '' OK Computer''-era Radiohead, My Bloody Valentine, and '' Disintegration''-era Cure will find ''And the Glass Handed Kites'' one of the most breathtaking things to come along since the dawn of the dream pop/post-punk genres themselves."Monger, James
And the Glass Handed Kites
AllMusic. Retrieved 2 August 2011. '' Drowned in Sounds Jordan Dowling also gave ''And the Glass Handed Kites'' a positive review, writing "If you are looking for an album that you can put on for a couple minutes to fill time then you'd do better to look elsewhere, but if you want to be transported to an ethereal demi-world stuck between real life and dreams then ensure you purchase this. A masterpiece of overstated proportions, which is the greatest concept of all."Dowling, Jordan
Mew – And The Glass Handed Kites
. '' Drowned in Sound''. 27 September 2005. Retrieved 2 August 2011. ''Pitchfork'' reviewer Nitsuh Abebe praised the album's epic feel and called the album "a terrific accomplishment". The same website also criticized the album cover, naming it one of the worst album covers of 2006.Schreiber, Ryan
Top 25 Worst Album Covers of 2006
. Pitchfork Media. 14 December 2006. Retrieved 2 August 2011.

In a more mixed review, Conrad Amenta of Cokemachineglow.com wrote "The real shame is that on this album... the songs become secondary to the gesture. They are denied a sense of finality or, in ''And the Glass Handed Kites case, are sometimes deprived of an ending altogether." Amenta concluded: "The band does have the musical ability, their songs are reasonably well constructed, and the melodies are there. It’s only the ridiculous costume of importance they wear so self-consciously that’ll keep them from ever joining the party."Amenta, Conrad
Mew: And the Glass Handed Kites
. Cokemachineglow.com. 2 February 2006. Retrieved 2 August 2011.

The album has won several music prizes in Denmark, including four Danish Music Awards.Torp, Nicolai
Danish Music Awards 2006 – og vinderne blev...
Soundvenue. 11 March 2006. Retrieved 2 August 2011. ''Gaffa'' named ''And the Glass Handed Kites'' the best Danish album of 2005.Svidt, Ole
GAFFA kårer årets album 2005
Gaffa. 1 December 2005. Retrieved 2 August 2011. The album also helped Mew win awards outside of Denmark, with the band winning the 2005 MTV Europe Music Award for Best Danish Act. Pitchfork Media ranked the song "The Zookeeper's Boy" #92 on its list of the top 100 tracks of 2006.Pitchfork Staff
The Top 100 Tracks of 2006
Pitchfork Media. 18 December 2006. Retrieved 3 August 2011.

Track listing

Personnel

The following people contributed to ''And the Glass Handed Kites'':And the Glass Handed Kites – Credits
AllMusic. Retrieved 2 August 2011.

Mew

*Jonas Bjerre – electric guitar, piano, harmonium, synthesizers, vocals
* Bo Madsen – electric guitar
*Johan Wohlert – bass, guitar
*Silas Utke Graae Jørgensen – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

*Lasse Mauritzen – french horn on tracks 2, 3, 14
*J Mascis – additional vocals on track 3, additional background vocals on track 10
*Bo Rande – flugelhorn (tracks 2, 3), trumpet (tracks 13, 14)
*Rebecca Stark – soprano vocals on tracks 2, 8
*Damon Tutunjian – additional guitar on track 5
*Boys' choir on track 13
**Mathias Aagaard Christensen
**Frederik Peter Jakobsen
**Niklas Emil De Fries
**Frederik Stadager Larsen
*Gaël Amzalag – photography
*Kevin Bacon – mixing
*Michael Beinhorn – engineer, producer
*Jonnie Blackburn – A&R
*Frank Filipetti – engineer
*Pete Jackson – management
*George Marino – mastering
*Alan McGee – management
*M/M Paris – art direction and design
*Mads Nørgård – engineer
*Jonathan Quarmby – mixing
*Felipe Tichauer – engineer

Charts

Album

Singles

References

External links

''And the Glass Handed Kites'' page on the official Mew website

{{DEFAULTSORT:And The Glass Handed Kites
Mew (band) albums
2005 albums
Albums produced by Michael Beinhorn
Albums produced by Joshua (record producer)