Imagine if Tool got together with the Pet Shop Boys and wrote'n'recorded an album. The end result probably wouldn't sound a million miles from this utterly glorious record.

It's easy to get blown away by supposedly majestic-sounding pop rock from our continental European neighbours, when in fact there's actually not much substance to what's going on in any way, shape or form. Thankfully Danish four-piece Mew don't deal in that sort of thing; with them you get heart-wrenching anthems, full of intense, dark foreboding yet still imbued with melody and tunes, whose playing, arrangement, production and overall sound sweep you someplace else.

This is the band's fourth album, but only their second to be released in the UK. It is also simply chock full of gems, not least the single and hugely catchy song Special, and the hypnotic and wonderful Apocalypso.

Blending the moody and the uplifting is never easy, but Mew do it magnificently. If you like intelligent rock with melodies to boot, do yourself a favour: go out and buy this. Now.