Review Summary: mewithoutYou is a band that is well, kind of strange and just a little bit different. They are changing things up just a little bit in the Christian Hardcore scene. Maybe not changing things drastically, but doing things differently enough to be noticed a
When I first heard of mewithoutYou it was from a friend whose tastes in music I find to be quite similar to my own. Soon after that I decided to check them out for myself and I gave a listen to a couple of songs. Well, at the time I decided that these guys were just a little too out there for me, and put them off for quite a while. Lucky for me when I would look for some new music to get mewithoutYou would pop into my head, and a couple of months ago I finally listened to that little voice inside my head, and ended up picking up their latest album
Brother, Sister , and soon after that I got this album as well. mewithoutYou is quickly becoming one of my most favorite bands, and
Catch for Us the Foxes is becoming one of my favorite albums. There are a couple of anomalies with this band, mainly just lead singer Aaron Weiss. Instead of the typical singing and screaming, Aaron rather talks and shouts, yet he does this with as much intensity and emotion as anyone I can think of. He is also a very religious man, frequently using his beliefs as material for their songs, and is a poet of a lyricist delivering powerful messages.
Everything in this band fits together well. All the guys on the instruments play them very well, all though if you don’t really enjoy the vocals the instruments are probably not going to make up for it. There isn’t anything that is out of place, all the instruments are audible, and none of the instruments seem to dominate over the others. Probably the biggest downfall is that it is pretty much the vocals that have the majority of the spotlight, as there are not really any solos or anything like that. The most stand-out guy besides Aaron to me would be Richard Mazzotta on the drums. He plays on an incredibly basic kit. He’s got the bass, snare, a tom, the floor tom, his hi-hat, and the ride symbol. I’m a big fan of his rhythms and fills and what he does with not a whole lot.
Too be honest there just isn’t too many moments when the instruments truly stand out on this album, there is definitely some more interesting musical moments on their most recent release
Brother, Sister . When the rest of the guys do manage to steal the spotlight from Aaron they can really make some great moments, but this album is mostly all about the vocals, and the fantastic lyricist the Aaron Weiss is.
Paper Hanger is probably the most popular track off of this album and could possibly be my favorite song by them. It is one of the mellower tracks off the album, but slowly builds to the end where Aaron is just screaming “Our lives are not out own, even the wind plays still. All I felt was fire and bone, and movement, movement. If they ask you for a sign of the Father then tell them its movement, movement of hope.”
Another track I really enjoy is
Four Word Letter (Part Two) where Aaron grabs you from the beginning and doesn’t let go until the track is over. Filled with powerful lines like “Oh, but I’m so small. I can barely see how this great love can be inside of me. But look at your eyes there small in size, but they see enormous things” and “You strike the match, why not utterly be changed to fire? To sacrifice the shadow and the mist of a brief life you never much liked. So if you’d care to come along we’re gonna curb all our never- ending, clever complaining (as who’s ever heard of a singer criticized by his own song?)”
mewithoutYou is undoubtedly a unique band and something different. I’ve said it a couple times before, but Aaron is really what makes mewithoutYou, with his powerful half sung, half talking or shouting delivery, and his poetic lyrics that do a great job at sharing his beliefs. You can really feel the passion that they have about what they are doing, and the music is chockfull of emotion and power. I know I kind of struggled to describe their sound, but it just seems to me that you’re only going to enjoy the band if you can stand Aaron and his vocals. I think for most people it will be hit or miss, they will either really enjoy it, or they won’t, and I find myself enjoying it quite a lot.
mewithoutYou is:
Aaron Weiss- Vocals
Michael Weiss- Guitar
Christopher Kleinberg- Guitar
Greg Jehanian- Bass
Richard Mazzotta- Drums
Recommended Track
Torches Together
The Soviet
Paper Hanger
My Exit, Unfair
Four Word Letter (Part Two)
