999,853: Mew — Introducing Palace Players

It's a classic prog rock move to first blow minds for a couple lean years, then go unredeemably pop. After all, if you have the chops to play ANYTHING, why not hits? As long as you're already getting paid to move your hands around on your guitar to create sounds for people to listen to, why not get paid more to create sounds that cause more of those people to have sex with you? Ask any member of Genesis, Journey or Supertramp if they regret selling out and they won't be able to hear you over the sound of all the blow jobs they're getting.

However, most bands make this switcharoo try to make it at the most inconspicuous time possible, after a short hiatus perhaps. Usually they'll hire some hot new singer to provide more distance from the old version of the band. Maybe they'll have a slick new graphic designer design some kind of cool spaceship thing to go on the cover of all the albums. Mew takes a different approach. They go from difficult prog-rockers with integrity to candy coated sellouts halfway through a single song.

But notice how slick the transition is. They open with choppy unsettling angularity then stir in the sugar one teaspoonful at a time till we're left with buttery smooth MOR. One imagines that the fans that Mew picked up during the first 30 seconds of the song feeling rightly betrayed by the lush wash of synths and singalong chorus that eventually crashes the party. They would sniff in disdain at the Johnny come latelies. "Sure they like Mew NOW, but I'VE been listing to them since the beginning the song."

Of course MEW isn't selling out, they're just doing what they always do, which is having it both ways all the time. And why not?

Introducing Palace Players - M...