CD Review – MENEW – Take Them One By One

MENEW, photo by Lyle Christie.

CD Review – MENEW – Take Them One By One

by Jade Sperry

MENEW are three brothers that are taking Canada and the rest of the world by storm. This is a band that is on fire with creativity and have the talent that makes a great band foundation. The trio that is MENEW are Shade (vocals and guitar), Key (piano and synthesizers) and Nathan Samuel Phillip (drums and backing vocals). Key admits that “we have many nicknames for each other, these are just the ones that seemed to stick”. Born and raised in Toronto ON, they began their interest in music at the age of 6, having all been classically trained in piano. Sharing this knowledge base and a passion for writing music, the early foundation for this band was slowly formed. Their 2008 EP, Of The Future, was recognized by the Grammy Awards and was also short listed in four categories including Album of the Year and was honored by Billboard for their single “This Isn’t Real” as one of the top written songs of 2009. They blend classical music as well as the classic British sound and add their own style to the latter two elements to make their own unique sound.

And so this brings us to the bands’ first full length CD, Take Them One By One. This CD is very distinctive, fresh sounding and alive. The mixing and mastering of all 10 songs is probably the best I’ve ever heard. The first song “Fighter Orphan” starts out low with a synthetic sound and builds for about 30 seconds with a pause break and then the song begins full on with the drums and vocals. This song is powerful and has aggressive synths yet has the soulful and melodic riffs that are going on all at the same time. The vocals sound a bit underwater but this an effective quality of their overall sound. The music is very full and lush throughout the CD, and every song is exceptionally well written. Besides “Fighter Orphan” other stand out songs are “Sinking Ship” which is mournful and full of heart and soul musically speaking; “Don’t Give Up On Us Now” is a solid slow song that builds into a full on frenzy and is a feel good song about not looking back at the past as its done and over with; “Spaceplane” is a song that reminds me of David Bowie circa 1972 with spacey vocals, very clear imagery and synths that punctuate in all the right places.

Overall this CD has it all and is a good indication that this is a band that is going places in the near future. The release date of this CD is set for the summer of 2010, and there is a video for the song “Never Let Go” which shows the band’s more comical side in an American Western setting that is shot beautifully in black and white by Director Lyle Christie. The band also uses more nicknames from their past in this video.

You can find MENEW at:

Official YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/menewmusic

Their website: http://www.menew.com

Official My Space page: http://www.myspace.com/menewmusic