It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All DISAPPOINTING!
I saw mewithoutYou’s first show… they didn’t have a name yet and were simply a side project for a great indie rock/emo outfit called the Operation. A few months later, they got their sound a bit more together, donned matching suits, and quickly gained much love in the surburban Philly scene, especially on the campuses of Eastern University and Valley Forge Christian College.
During this timeframe, I had the privilege of getting to know the guys of mewithoutYou/the Operation and running a few shows featuring these two great bands. Unfortunately, the Operation fell by the wayside as the guys forged on…
I still love these guys. Greg is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Aaron and Mike were always great to me when I worked with them. I used to hang out with former member Dan Etorre. Kleinberg’s wife was in a few classes with me in college. Overall, I feel privileged to have known these guys and still try to see them play when I can.
Many would call mewithoutYou’s musical journey a progression… growth as musicians. A band that becomes more avant garde and/or softer isn’t always a band that is “growing up”. And, as much as I take exception to the idea that growing up means getting softer, I do think that mewithoutYou is a band that has grown up. The angst of Aaron’s lyrics has been replaced with contemplation and introspection. The straight ahead guitar riffs and hardcore breakdowns have been replaced by musical experimentation.
However, I miss their old sound! While mewithoutYou has grown up musically, I still like their younger, fresher sound more. My favorite mewithoutYou release was their EP on Kickstart Audio. “Flamethrower” is still the best song they ever recorded and it blows me away each time I listen to it (which I still do frequently). The new release is just another step in the direction towards embracing the less abrasive and more drab indie sound. It’s good, I guess, but not the mewithoutYou that I fell in love with.
While Buzzgrinder‘s Josh Mock stands “on the side of those who welcome and recognize the need for change,” I don’t always agree. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. So, I plead to mewithoutYou: Bring back the angst, the EP, A->B Life, and the matching suits… at least play “Flamethrower” for me… or, as Liam would say, “Play the good one!”
either way, we can drive all night... 
You got that right Justin. I am rather disappointed with the songs I’ve heard thus far. I also miss the old mewithoutyou.
Court, sometimes when I throw A->B Life in, it makes me think of you. Especially, “The Cure for Pain”
Thanks for the heads up on the new record. I have been listening to “every thought a Thought of You” for the past few weeks, and although it’s good it’s just not the same.
I guess I miss the passionate sharp dry spoken/screamed lines like “I said I’d not come back, well I’m coming back – and you’d better be alone.”
[…] my complaints that the current version of mewithoutYou is not the same band I fell for several years ago, I can’t deny that their new album is a solid one. If I take an objective listen to It’s All […]
thepaintedman.com » Different is Not Always Bad… I Guess said this on June 4, 2009 at 6:34 am |