Album Details

• Artist: Mewithoutyou
• Album: [a→b] Life
• Label: Tooth & Nail Records
• Year of Release: 2002
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: kev_stev on 2007-06-25

Though their name sounds like a moniker for your favorite emo band's side project, mewithoutYou avoid all clichés with their first full-length release [a→b] Life, where brooding lyrics combine with lead singer Aaron Weiss’s penetrating screams and, at times, conversational singing.  From the CD’s inception, mewithoutYou’s originality manifests itself; on the album’s first track, entitled “Bullet to the Binary,” Weiss shouts, “Let us die/And dying, we reply ‘Don't you tell us about your suffering, Look in our eyes, look in our eyes.’”  Though many of the songs on [a→b] Life deal with separation and the anger and loneliness that coincides with it, the songs are rich with biblical allusions, which embellish mewithoutYou’s lyrics with a rare kind of maturity seldom heard in albums dealing with failed relationships.  

The guitars are relentless throughout the entire opening track, and for that matter, the entire album, while the drums beat heavily with the occasional accompaniment of tambourines and clapping.  Aside from two instrumental tracks “(A)” and “(B),” which offer an ominous period of placidity before two of the albums most vengeful and volatile songs, “Gentlemen” and “Silencer,” respectively, the album does not slow down.  Relying on rapid changes in dynamics and Weiss’s voice—from screaming to emphasized speaking—"Gentlemen" and "Silencer" highlight a brilliant first album from a band with unbelievable potential. 

The album closes with the 12^th song “The Cure for Pain,” where Weiss begs, “Jesus, have mercy on us” before being drowned out by guitars.  Even those who are not religious will find this album to be powerfully moving because of the honesty within the band’s sound.  Secular listeners beware: you may become a devout mewithoutYou fan after hearing this album.

User Reviews and Comments

Review:

on 2007-07-06 blackxdan Said:

i became a fan of mewithoutYou after this release. Aaron Wiess has a very unique vocal style. It doesn't sound like his attempting to sing, but as though he is having a conversation. Which goes perfectly with the music in the background. These guys are amazing musicians, and this CD just continues to impress me with every track i listen to. This is a good release and if you're into more alternative stuff, then i would recommend getting this album. And i agree with this review one hundred percent, mewithoutYou is a unique one of a kind band, worthy of everyone's ears.
Rating: 8/10