Means

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, Fews' 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