Frengers
2003 studio album by Mew
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Frengers, alternatively titled as Frengers: Not Quite Friends, But Not Quite Strangers, is the third studio album by Danish alternative rock band Mew. It was released on 7 April 2003. The title is a portmanteau of the words "friend" and "stranger". A frenger is a person who is "not quite a friend but not quite a stranger" according to the album's accompanying booklet.
- Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Sun Studio, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Ridge Farm Studios, Capel, Surrey, England
- Third Stone Recording, North Hollywood, California, United States
- Cello Studios, Hollywood, California, United States
| Frengers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 7 April 2003 | |||
| Recorded | September 2001–November 2002 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 48:43 | |||
| Label | Sony | |||
| Producer | Rich Costey | |||
| Mew chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Frengers | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| BBC | 8/10[2] |
| Drowned in Sound | 8/10[3] |
| Gaffa | [4] |
| PopMatters | favorable[5] |
| Sputnikmusic | 5/5[6] |
| Stylus Magazine | B+[7] |
| Uncut | 8/10[8] |
Background
Six of the album's ten tracks were previously included on Mew's first two albums A Triumph for Man and Half the World Is Watching Me, both of which saw only limited release, but were rerecorded for Frengers. The other four are original recordings.
The song "Her Voice Is Beyond Her Years" features vocals from Swedish singer Stina Nordenstam.[9] The vocals for "Symmetry" were recorded by a 13-year-old American named Becky Jarrett, who came in contact with the band online two years earlier. Bjerre was in search of a vocal with a "childlike" quality, so her mother sent the band recordings, but the quality was so poor that the band decided to fly them to Copenhagen to record in the studio.[10] "156" features backing vocals by Damon Tutunjian of the American band Swirlies.[11]
The Japanese version of Frengers also includes the re-recordings of two more earlier songs, "I Should Have Been a Tsin-Tsi (For You)" and "Wherever".
Recording
The album was recorded in several studios. Producer Rich Costey first flew to Copenhagen to record "Snow Brigade". They were supposed to continue working in Copenhagen, but the September 11 attacks changed the band's plans, and they ended up flying to Los Angeles to record "Am I Wry? No", "She Came Home for Christmas" and a few B-sides.[11]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Jonas Bjerre, Bo Madsen, Johan Wohlert, and Silas Utke Graae Jørgensen.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Am I Wry? No" | 4:54 |
| 2. | "156" | 4:55 |
| 3. | "Snow Brigade" | 4:22 |
| 4. | "Symmetry" | 5:39 |
| 5. | "Behind the Drapes" | 3:40 |
| 6. | "Her Voice Is Beyond Her Years" | 2:48 |
| 7. | "Eight Flew Over, One Was Destroyed" | 4:48 |
| 8. | "She Came Home for Christmas" | 3:55 |
| 9. | "She Spider" | 4:44 |
| 10. | "Comforting Sounds" | 8:53 |
| Total length: | 48:43 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "I Should Have Been a Tsin-Tsi (For You)" | 1:57 |
| 12. | "Wherever" | 4:22 |
| Total length: | 55:02 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "King Christian" | 3:35 |
| 12. | "Mica" | 3:31 |
| 13. | "That Time On The Ledge" | 3:58 |
| 14. | "City Voices" | 2:34 |
| 15. | "I Should Have Been a Tsin-Tsi (For You)" | 1:57 |
| 16. | "Wherever" | 4:22 |
| 17. | "Like Paper Cuts" | 4:05 |
Personnel
Mew
- Jonas Bjerre – vocals, guitars, piano, synthesizers
- Bo Madsen – guitars
- Johan Wohlert – bass, guitars
- Silas Utke Graae Jørgensen – drums, percussion
Additional musicians
- Patrick Warren – piano on tracks 1, 8
- Damon Tutunjian – additional vocals on track 2, additional guitars on track 9
- Becky Jarrett – vocals on track 4
- Nick Watts – piano on tracks 4, 10, synthesizers on tracks 9, 10
- Tobias Wilner Bertram – turntables on tracks 6, 8
- Rich Costey – ride cymbal on track 6
- Klaus Nielsen – piano on track 6
- Stina Nordenstam – vocals on track 6
- Bo Rande – trumpet on track 10
Technical
- Rich Costey – producer
- George Marino – mastering
- Flemming Rasmussen, Troels Alsted, Andreas Hviid, Dan Lefler, Darren Mora and Fred Archanbault – additional engineering