mewithoutYou Albums (3)
'It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright'
Release Date 5/19/2009
Tracks 11
Label TNL
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
With their 10th anniversary on the horizon, mewithoutYou opt to chase a different muse with It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright, whose exhaustive title is buoyed by an emphasis on offbeat folk music and fractured Neutral Milk Hotel-styled acoustics. Gone are the screamo flourishes and hoarse, half-shouted lyrics, having been replaced by what amounts to experimental campfire music with occasional stabs of orchestral chaos. "I've got a Walnut-brownie brain and Molasses in my veins," sings frontman Aaron Weiss, who goes on to mention everything from "powdered sugar funnel cake cocaine" to "Carob-colored almond eyes" in his stream-of-consciousness zeal. The culinary picture he creates is fairly nonsensical, but the emphasis here is on the music, whose unexpected turns will either appetize or repulse longtime listeners. This is a band that routinely stretches the conventions of Christian-based rock, and It's All Crazy! is perhaps their most boundary-defying album to date. ~ Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Genius or lunacy -- take your pick. But either way, give credit to Aaron Weiss and gang for another unique taste of Christian indie rock sentiment. In more of his half-shouting, stream-of-consciousness style, Weiss throws any sense of traditional song form out the door. Lyrically speaking, Brother, Sister is more cryptic and nonsensical than almost anything else in Tooth & Nail Records' catalog. It proves an arduous task to identify any faith-based themes on the disc besides a desperate plea to reconcile one's place before God. Although there is less pounding rock than on its debut album, the group continues to explore sounds that make you want to shudder and tap along simultaneously. The one theme appears to be an obsession with mischievous critters -- spiders, porcupines, and wolves, to name a few. You'll either "get it" or you won't, but you definitely won't forget the eccentric sound of this oft-loved band. ~ Jared Johnson, All Music Guide
'Catch for Us the Foxes'
Release Date 10/5/2004
Tracks 12
Label Tooth & Nail
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Unless a Christian rocker plans to perform for Christian audiences exclusively, he or she needs to provide music that secular audiences will find relevant -- music that listeners can relate to on some level even if they aren't practicing Christians. As a rule, that hasn't been a problem for Tooth & Nail's artists, and it certainly isn't a problem on Catch for Us the Foxes. Whatever one's religious views, this album is a gutsy, impassioned example of punk-drenched alternative rock. The Christian elements in mewithoutYou's lyrics aren't terribly overt; the Philadelphia residents aren't beating listeners over their heads and telling them to repent or else. Catch for Us the Foxes doesn't preach, judge, or condemn; rather, lead singer Aaron Weiss describes his own emotional struggles and does so in a very cathartic, confessional, stream-of-consciousness way. Emotionally, Weiss really lays his cards on the table -- and like a lot of secular alterna-rockers, he doesn't hesitate to express his angst. In fact, angst is quite plentiful on Catch for Us the Foxes, which isn't to say that the album is overly negative. mewithoutYou's work isn't as consistently dark as Nirvana or Hole -- this is a Christian band, after all -- but Weiss does deal with his emotions in a totally candid, no-nonsense fashion, which means addressing the good, the bad, and the ugly. And even though Weiss' spirituality comes through, Catch for Us the Foxes doesn't feel like a sermon or come across as rigidly sectarian. One could be a devout Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Rastafarian, or Sikh -- someone who has no interest in converting to Christianity -- and still find Weiss' performances meaningful. With Catch for Us the Foxes, mewithoutYou has delivered an album that both Christians and non-Christians will be able to relate to. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
