Shadowy post-punk outfit
Fews
deliver a propulsive, minimalist debut with the help of U.K. producer
Dan Carey
(
TOY
,
Kate Tempest
Bat for Lashes
). Bearing only their given names and a strange reluctance to gig in their homeland of Sweden, the quartet is fronted by American transplant
Fred
, who guides his bandmates
David
Lulu
, and
Rusty
through ten spiny noise-pop jams that occasionally resemble New York contemporaries
DIIV
, and even bits of early era
Cure
, in their moody guitar styles. Citing
Interpol
's
Daniel Kessler
as an influence,
' lean rib-showing sound has just enough rock grit to counter its Scandinavian austerity. Highlights like the dark-hued instrumental "I.D." and the pensive pop of "If Things Go on Like This" offer a couple of the band's different shades, while the epic eight-minute closer "III" is a straight-up, psyched-out Krautrock feast. ~ Timothy Monger