Mew and guitarist Bo Madsen announced today that they will “part ways for the time being” after 20 years playing together. The Danish band released their latest full-length, +-, this past April, which we named Album Of The Week and later listed as being one of the best albums of the year so far. Madsen is one of Mew’s founding members, which makes his departure an intriguing development, but it’s not totally unprecedented given the band’s history; bassist Johan Wohlert left the Mew in 2006 only to return nearly 10 years later to record +-. Given that history, maybe Madsen really is only leaving for the time being. Mew did not comment on the reason for Madsen’s departure, but they did state that Mads Wegner will join them for their upcoming tour dates. Here is their full statement:

After 20 years playing together in Mew, the band and Bo Madsen have decided to part ways for the time being.

At present the rest of us will continue with Mew.

We are happy to tell you that guitarist Mads Wegner will be joining us on our upcoming shows, and we look forward to seeing you all out there.

Thank you for your understanding and support,

Jonas, Johan and Silas