Frengers

Frengers
Frengers
Studio album by Mew
Released	7 April 2003
Recorded	September 2001–November 2002
Studio	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;
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	48:43
Label	Sony
Producer	Rich Costey
Mew chronology
Singles from Frengers
	"Comforting Sounds"; Released: 24 March 2003; "Am I Wry? No"; Released: 16 June 2003; "156"; Released: July 2003 (Europe only); "She Came Home for Christmas" / "That Time on the Ledge"; Released: 15 December 2003;

Professional ratings
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]

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.

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 and "Symmetry" features vocals from 14-year-old Becky Jarrett from Georgia, US. 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".

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jonas Bjerre, Bo Madsen, Johan Wohlert, and Silas Utke Graae Jørgensen.

*Frengers* track listing
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

Bonus tracks on Japanese release
No.	Title	Length
11.	"I Should Have Been a Tsin-Tsi (For You)"	1:57
12.	"Wherever"	4:22
Total length:		55:02

15th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
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

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for *Frengers*
Chart (2003)	Peak position
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)^[9]	2
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[10]	6

References

^ O'Brien, Jon. Frengers. AllMusic. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
^ "BBC - Manchester Music - Mew - Frengers". www.bbc.co.uk:80. Archived from the original on 23 April 2003. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
^ Adams, Sean. Mew - Frengers Archived 2021-06-20 at the Wayback Machine. Drowned in Sound. 2 April 2003. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
^ "Mew: Frengers". Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
^ Williams, Richard T. (29 April 2004). "Mew: Frengers". PopMatters. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
^ "Mew - Frengers (Album review 3) | Sputnikmusic".
^ "Stylus Magazine". Archived from the original on 2008-08-20.
^ Mew - Frengers Uncut. 1 September 2003. Retrieved 12 Mar 2022.
^ "Danishcharts.dk – Mew – Frengers". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Mew – Frengers". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 April 2023.

[allmusic-1] O'Brien, Jon. Frengers. AllMusic. Retrieved 23 June 2019.

[2] "BBC - Manchester Music - Mew - Frengers". www.bbc.co.uk:80. Archived from the original on 23 April 2003. Retrieved 12 January 2022.

[DIS-3] Adams, Sean. Mew - Frengers Archived 2021-06-20 at the Wayback Machine. Drowned in Sound. 2 April 2003. Retrieved 23 June 2019.

[4] "Mew: Frengers". Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2010-05-03.

[popmatters-5] Williams, Richard T. (29 April 2004). "Mew: Frengers". PopMatters. Retrieved 14 July 2019.

[6] "Mew - Frengers (Album review 3) | Sputnikmusic".

[7] "Stylus Magazine". Archived from the original on 2008-08-20.

[uncut-8] Mew - Frengers Uncut. 1 September 2003. Retrieved 12 Mar 2022.

[ac_Denmark_Mew-9] "Danishcharts.dk – Mew – Frengers". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 April 2023.

[ac_Norway_Mew-10] "Norwegiancharts.com – Mew – Frengers". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 April 2023.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

v t e Mew
Jonas Bjerre Silas Jørgensen Johan Wohlert Bo Madsen
Studio albums	A Triumph for Man Half the World Is Watching Me Frengers And the Glass Handed Kites No More Stories... + – Visuals
Demos and EPs	6 Songs The Zookeeper's Boy EP Live Session EP No More Stories EP
Compilation albums	Eggs Are Funny
Singles	"She Came Home for Christmas"
Record labels	Exlibris Musik Evil Office Sony BMG Sony Music
Related articles	Discography Apparatjik We Are Here Square Peg in a Round Hole
Categories	Albums Songs