Christian music has been the subject of disdain for many people because of the usual lack of complex song writing and simple-minded subject matter. mewithoutYou have been an innovative Post-Hardore(early) and Indie band influenced by Christianity/Judaism since 2001. I suspected the lyrics of reflecting Judeo-Christian ideals when I got my first taste of them via their third album Brother, Sister. I think that many people have misunderstood this band for being a Christian band because they mention biblical characters. This leads me back to the point of this blog entry; even if bands have Christian influences you should not write them off because of your predisposition. BECAUSE…..
THIS BAND(mewithoutYou) IS KAMAZING! and their new album, it’s all crazy! it’s all false! it’s all a dream! it’s alright has been blowing my mind since its release.
The album starts out with a melodic keyboard-banging catchy piece filled with groovy bass and a bit of brass at the end, every thought a Thought of you is one of my favorite tracks. Although I must admit I show favoritism to early tracks in albums usually. Transition to the next song which reminds me of the style of Good Old War with some extra umph with lyrics in the form of “The Stinky Cheese Man,” that make us all love Aaron Weiss’ style. Then we have a couple songs with so much variety in style, Modest Mouse influence reaks in these songs but is not completely obvious as it is masked by the overflowing epicness in percussion and harmonizing vocals. Special recognition is due to the supplementary instruments and producing at this point. The transition from goodbye, I ! to stick is nailed and the flutes in the King Beetle… are gold. All that I can say about this album as a whole is that it deserves a listen from any fans of modern Indie, Modest Mouse, The Shins, freak-folk, or just music with amazing lyrics and solid instrumentation.
But now it is time for me to plug my friend’s local band, This Year’s Promise, a pop-punk band from my hometown who has just finished their very first official demo. The band is doing small shows on a weekly basis this summer throughout the South-East. Check it out. Live link for the single off of their myspace.
www.myspace.com/thisyearspromise
I hope you enjoy the music and remember to always analyze things before tossing them out as garbage. Also, if it wasn’t clear before mewithoutYou is not persay a “Christian” band but more of a band that reflects the ideals in their music and touring lifestyle.
-Tafka
EDIT: dont know what the hell happened to my image of the mwY album
