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.[4]
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.[5]
And the Glass Handed Kites peaked at number 2 on Denmark's Tracklisten.[8] 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.[9][10] The track was voted "Hit of the Year" by Gaffa readers, with another Mew song ("Special") coming in second.[11] "The Zookeeper's Boy" was later released as a single in 2006.[12]
The Japanese bonus track, "Shiroi Kuchibiruno Izanai" is an alternate version of "White Lips Kissed" with the lyrics and title translated into Japanese.
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."[6]Drowned in Sound's 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."[5]Pitchfork reviewer Nitsuh Abebe praised the album's epic feel and called the album "a terrific accomplishment".[7] The same website also criticized the album cover, naming it one of the worst album covers of 2006.[18]
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 Kite's 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."[19]
The album has won several music prizes in Denmark, including four Danish Music Awards.[20]Gaffa named And the Glass Handed Kites the best Danish album of 2005.[21] 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.[22]
Track listingedit
All tracks are written by Mew
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Circuitry of the Wolf"
2:45
2.
"Chinaberry Tree"
3:33
3.
"Why Are You Looking Grave?" (features vocals by J Mascis)
3:50
4.
"Fox Cub"
1:15
5.
"Apocalypso"
4:46
6.
"Special"
3:12
7.
"The Zookeeper's Boy"
4:43
8.
"A Dark Design"
3:29
9.
"Saviours of Jazz Ballet" (song ends at 2:05, followed by instrumental track "Fear Me, December")
3:18
10.
"An Envoy to the Open Fields" (features vocals by J Mascis)
3:40
11.
"Small Ambulance"
1:05
12.
"The Seething Rain Weeps for You" (song ends at 3:12, followed by instrumental track "Uda Pruda")
4:18
13.
"White Lips Kissed"
6:45
14.
"Louise Louisa"
7:20
Total length:
53:59
Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.
Title
Length
15.
"Forever and Ever"
4:20
16.
"Shiroi Kuchibiruno Izanai" ("White Lips Kissed" with Japanese lyrics)
5:34
Total length:
63:53
Personneledit
The following people contributed to And the Glass Handed Kites:[23]
Mewedit
Jonas Bjerre – electric guitar, piano, harmonium, synthesizers, vocals
^ abBernard, David (20 October 2005). "Mew: And the Glass Handed Kites". PopMatters. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
^Steenberg, Andrew (31 January 2006). "Mew – And the Glass Handed Kites". Exclaim!. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
^ abGrischow, Chad (2 August 2006). "Mew – And the Glass Handed Kites". IGN. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
^Mew – And The Glass Handed Kites: Mew: Amazon.co.uk. Amazon.com. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
^ abcdDowling, Jordan. Mew – And The Glass Handed Kites 14 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Drowned in Sound. 27 September 2005. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
^ abcMonger, James. And the Glass Handed Kites. AllMusic. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
^ abcAbebe, Nitsuh. Album Reviews: Mew: And the Glass Handed Kites. Pitchfork Media. 8 August 2006. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
^ abcde"Mew – And the Glass Handed Kites". danishcharts.dk. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
^P3 – Tjelisten 9/10 2005. P3. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
^P3 – Tjelisten 6/11 2005. P3. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
^Tuxen, Henrik. GAFFA-Prisen 2005: Mew og Coldplay topscorere. Gaffa. 4 January 2006. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
^MEW – THE ZOOKEEPER'S BOY (SONG) . danishcharts.dk. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
^Cruz, Gilbert (21 July 2006). "And the Glass Handed Kites". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
^Knudsen, Jesper Nykjær. "Mew: And The Glass Handed Kites". GAFFA. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
^Shulman, Alan (13 September 2006). "Mew: And the Glass Handed Kites". No Ripcord. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
^Peterson, Igarvey Laing (7 June 2006). "Mew – And the Glass Handed Kites". Prefix. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
^Greg (6 October 2006). "Mew – And the Glass Handed Kites". Punknews.org. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
^Schreiber, Ryan. Top 25 Worst Album Covers of 2006 6 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Pitchfork Media. 14 December 2006. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
^Amenta, Conrad. Mew: And the Glass Handed Kites 2 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Cokemachineglow.com. 2 February 2006. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
^Torp, Nicolai. Danish Music Awards 2006 – og vinderne blev.... Soundvenue. 11 March 2006. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
^Svidt, Ole. GAFFA kårer årets album 2005. Gaffa. 1 December 2005. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
^Pitchfork Staff. The Top 100 Tracks of 2006 . Pitchfork Media. 18 December 2006. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
^And the Glass Handed Kites – Credits. AllMusic. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
^Discography Mew . danishcharts.dk. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
^"MEW – The Official Charts Company". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
External linksedit
December 03, 2023
glass, handed, kites, fourth, studio, album, danish, band, released, united, kingdom, september, 2005, united, states, july, 2006, studio, album, mewreleased19, september, 2005recorded2004, 2005studiomichael, beinhorn, place, venice, beach, california, studios. 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 4 And the Glass Handed KitesStudio album by MewReleased19 September 2005Recorded2004 2005StudioMichael Beinhorn s place Venice Beach California Mox Studios Copenhagen DenmarkGenreProgressive rock 1 progressive pop 2 space rock psychedelic rock 3 Length53 59LabelSony BMGProducerMichael BeinhornMew chronologyFrengers 2003 And the Glass Handed Kites 2005 No More Stories 2009 Singles from And the Glass Handed Kites Apocalypso Released 18 July 2005 Special Released 19 September 2005 Why Are You Looking Grave Released 6 February 2006 The Zookeeper s Boy Released 17 April 2006 Contents 1 Overview 2 Reception 3 Track listing 4 Personnel 4 1 Mew 4 2 Additional personnel 5 Charts 5 1 Album 5 2 Singles 6 References 7 External linksOverview editAnd 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 5 And the Glass Handed Kites sound has been compared to Sigur Ros Dinosaur Jr Ride and progressive rock 5 6 7 And the Glass Handed Kites peaked at number 2 on Denmark s Tracklisten 8 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 9 10 The track was voted Hit of the Year by Gaffa readers with another Mew song Special coming in second 11 The Zookeeper s Boy was later released as a single in 2006 12 The Japanese bonus track Shiroi Kuchibiruno Izanai is an alternate version of White Lips Kissed with the lyrics and title translated into Japanese Reception editProfessional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllMusic nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 6 Drowned in Sound9 10 5 Entertainment WeeklyB 13 GAFFA nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 14 IGN7 5 10 3 No Ripcord8 10 15 Pitchfork8 4 10 7 PopMatters nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 1 Prefix8 10 16 Punknews org nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 17 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 6 Drowned in Sound s 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 5 Pitchfork reviewer Nitsuh Abebe praised the album s epic feel and called the album a terrific accomplishment 7 The same website also criticized the album cover naming it one of the worst album covers of 2006 18 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 Kite s 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 19 The album has won several music prizes in Denmark including four Danish Music Awards 20 Gaffa named And the Glass Handed Kites the best Danish album of 2005 21 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 22 Track listing editAll tracks are written by MewNo TitleLength1 Circuitry of the Wolf 2 452 Chinaberry Tree 3 333 Why Are You Looking Grave features vocals by J Mascis 3 504 Fox Cub 1 155 Apocalypso 4 466 Special 3 127 The Zookeeper s Boy 4 438 A Dark Design 3 299 Saviours of Jazz Ballet song ends at 2 05 followed by instrumental track Fear Me December 3 1810 An Envoy to the Open Fields features vocals by J Mascis 3 4011 Small Ambulance 1 0512 The Seething Rain Weeps for You song ends at 3 12 followed by instrumental track Uda Pruda 4 1813 White Lips Kissed 6 4514 Louise Louisa 7 20Total length 53 59 Japanese edition bonus tracksNo TitleLength15 Forever and Ever 4 2016 Shiroi Kuchibiruno Izanai White Lips Kissed with Japanese lyrics 5 34Total length 63 53Personnel editThe following people contributed to And the Glass Handed Kites 23 Mew edit Jonas Bjerre electric guitar piano harmonium synthesizers vocals Bo Madsen electric guitar Johan Wohlert bass guitar Silas Utke Graae Jorgensen drums percussionAdditional personnel edit 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 Gael Amzalag photography Kevin Bacon mixing Michael Beinhorn engineer producer Jonnie Blackburn A amp R Frank Filipetti engineer Pete Jackson management George Marino mastering Alan McGee management M M Paris art direction and design Mads Norgard engineer Jonathan Quarmby mixing Felipe Tichauer engineerCharts editAlbum edit Chart 2005 06 PeakpositionDanish Albums Chart 8 2Finnish Albums Chart 8 4Norwegian Albums Chart 8 4Swedish Albums Chart 8 36Singles edit Year Song Peak positionsDEN 24 UK 25 2005 Apocalypso 75 Special 462006 Why Are You Looking Grave 20 53 The Zookeeper s Boy 80 denotes releases that did not chart References edit a b Bernard David 20 October 2005 Mew And the Glass Handed Kites PopMatters Retrieved 8 May 2016 Steenberg Andrew 31 January 2006 Mew And the Glass Handed Kites Exclaim Retrieved 8 May 2016 a b Grischow Chad 2 August 2006 Mew And the Glass Handed Kites IGN Retrieved 6 September 2019 Mew And The Glass Handed Kites Mew Amazon co uk Amazon com Retrieved 3 August 2011 a b c d Dowling Jordan Mew And The Glass Handed Kites Archived 14 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine Drowned in Sound 27 September 2005 Retrieved 2 August 2011 a b c Monger James And the Glass Handed Kites AllMusic Retrieved 2 August 2011 a b c Abebe Nitsuh Album Reviews Mew And the Glass Handed Kites Pitchfork Media 8 August 2006 Retrieved 2 August 2011 a b c d e Mew And the Glass Handed Kites danishcharts dk Retrieved 2 August 2011 P3 Tjelisten 9 10 2005 P3 Retrieved 3 August 2011 P3 Tjelisten 6 11 2005 P3 Retrieved 3 August 2011 Tuxen Henrik GAFFA Prisen 2005 Mew og Coldplay topscorere Gaffa 4 January 2006 Retrieved 2 August 2011 MEW THE ZOOKEEPER S BOY SONG danishcharts dk Retrieved 2 August 2011 Cruz Gilbert 21 July 2006 And the Glass Handed Kites Entertainment Weekly Retrieved 8 May 2016 Knudsen Jesper Nykjaer Mew And The Glass Handed Kites GAFFA Retrieved 8 May 2016 Shulman Alan 13 September 2006 Mew And the Glass Handed Kites No Ripcord Retrieved 23 June 2019 Peterson Igarvey Laing 7 June 2006 Mew And the Glass Handed Kites Prefix Retrieved 6 September 2019 Greg 6 October 2006 Mew And the Glass Handed Kites Punknews org Retrieved 6 September 2019 Schreiber Ryan Top 25 Worst Album Covers of 2006 Archived 6 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine Pitchfork Media 14 December 2006 Retrieved 2 August 2011 Amenta Conrad Mew And the Glass Handed Kites Archived 2 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine Cokemachineglow com 2 February 2006 Retrieved 2 August 2011 Torp Nicolai Danish Music Awards 2006 og vinderne blev Soundvenue 11 March 2006 Retrieved 2 August 2011 Svidt Ole GAFFA karer arets album 2005 Gaffa 1 December 2005 Retrieved 2 August 2011 Pitchfork Staff The Top 100 Tracks of 2006 Pitchfork Media 18 December 2006 Retrieved 3 August 2011 And the Glass Handed Kites Credits AllMusic Retrieved 2 August 2011 Discography Mew danishcharts dk Retrieved 1 May 2015 MEW The Official Charts Company The Official Charts Company Retrieved 2 August 2011 External links editAnd the Glass Handed Kites page on the official Mew website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title And the Glass Handed Kites amp oldid 1178798097, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
