I promise that my next review will not only be a band that is not on Tooth and Nail Records, but also a band that isn't Christian.
mewithoutYou - It's All Crazy!, It's All False!, It's All a Dream!, It's Alright!
Tooth and Nail Records, 2009
mewithoutYou has maintained a steady progression of creativity during their existence. 2002’s [A-->B] Life was a mixture of aggressive drums, heavy guitars, and Aaron Weiss yelling out in a distinct, poetic way that was dripping with passion, but parched for melody. Catch for Us the Foxes and Brother, Sister showed distinct signs of creative development. Aaron began to sing from time to time. They used guest instrumentalists on songs like “C-Minor” and “In a Sweater Poorly Knit”. These two albums set the stage for what was to come with their newest project.
The first moments of It’s All Crazy... are ripe with a new emotion for mewithoutYou: joy! This is not to say that songs like Brother, Sister’s “O Porcupine” aren’t filled with happiness, but that they don’t communicate it with their instrumentation and melodic lines. The opening song “Every Thought a Thought of You” has a pleasant melody, and is filled with positive lyrics like “the trees raise branches high like arms in church to grateful sky, every song in praise of you.”
“The Fox, the Crow and the Cookie” is the first of several songs that play out like one of Aesop’s fables. Each of these songs has an over-arching idea that that Weiss is trying to convey. “The Fox, the Crow and the Cookie” is a story about a crow that steals a piece of candy from a baker. A fox devises a plan to get the candy from the crow. The fox decides to use flattery to get the crow, who is holding the candy in its beak, to sing. When the crow began to sing, the candy falls out and the fox gobbles it up. The story here, of course, is that we should strive to remain humble, because our pride will cause us to make bad decisions.
“A Stick, A Carrot & String” is probably my favorite song on the album. It tells an abbreviated version of Jesus’ life from the perspective of different animals. As weird as that sounds, it is actually quite touching. In the barn where Jesus was born, several animals have something to say about His coming into the world. For example, a donkey says to the baby Jesus: “child, in 30-some-odd years you'll ride someone who looks like me, untriumphantly.” The song concludes with a snake being crushed in the garden where Jesus prayed “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26)
Overall the new techniques of this album are successful. However, there are a few moments that fall short of what a mewithoutYou record should be. In “goodbye, I!” Aaron Weiss’ singing voice doesn’t have enough strength or range to properly deliver the melodic lines in the last half of the song (hence why he has relied on abrasive yelping for years). “Fig with a Bellyache” has the most Daniel Smith influence. The song could have been taken straight from a Danielson Famile record. This is alright if you are looking to listen to Danielson. However, as a mewithoutYou song, it fails to communicate. They are very different bands that don’t overlap harmoniously.
The album is definitely enjoyable. When Daniel Smith was adding his touch to the mewithoutYou style, the band sounded fantastic. When mewithoutYou was sounding like Danielson, the band fell short. Fortunately the latter was a rare occurrence.
(7/10)
mewithoutYou Myspace
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