Over the course of three albums and several hundred mesmerizing shows, audiences have consistently heard something dramatic and altogether different from mewithoutYou. Spirits have been jolted and calmed, in equal measures.
it's all crazy! it's all false! it's all a dream! it's alright is another daring adventure charted by frontman Aaron Weiss, guitarist Michael Weiss, bassist Greg Jehanian, and drummer Rickie Mazzotta. Helping to further stretch the group’s boundaries is the production duo of indie dynamo Daniel Smith (Danielson Familie) and Philly workhorse Brian McTear (Mazarin, Matt Pond PA).
Much of the mewithoutYou anguish of old has given way to a sense of gentle wonder, as the band and a whole slew of guest musicians have unearthed strange and beautiful sounds that accompany the album’s many marvels. A more tranquil Aaron, following an artistic progression he began on Brother, Sister, has more or less dropped his signature sing-shouting and is now a full-fledged singer. The band remains in left field, but one that continuously draws to them more eccentrics, seekers, and lovers of original music.
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The music has mellowed and matured to a fresh, folk-friendly depth, not unlike a well-crafted batch of bourbon.| Posted August 24, 2009
The key to possibly ever appreciating It’s All Crazy! It’s All False! It’s All a Dream! It’s Alright is for you to forget everything you ever thought you may have known about mewithoutYou. The band has seemingly tossed out all traces of Fugazi and Slint, the angst-ridden bleating of Aaron Weiss, and the frenetic, post-core pacing of its songs, and yet this is still most assuredly a mewithoutYou record. Lyrically, Aaron seems more Franciscan than ever, choosing to balance the passion of Donne with the pastoral pictures of Whitman, while the music has mellowed and matured to a fresh, folk-friendly depth, not unlike a well-crafted batch of bourbon. One could easily attribute these shifts to the production hand of Daniel Smith (of Danielson fame), as layered percussion, mandolins, horns and keys make their way onto the record, but these organic changes sound totally unforced and are quite welcome. Admittedly, there are times when I miss the emotional, rip-out-my-heart-to-watch-it-bleed fury of Catch For Us The Foxes, but with examples like “The Angel of Death Came to David’s Room,” “Fig With a Bellyache,” and “Allah, Allah, Allah” on hand, you’d be hard-pressed to claim that mewithoutYou still doesn’t know how to create meaningful music. [Tooth & Nail] Adam P. Newton
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from HM Magazine. Click here to visit HMMagazine.com today!
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