MewithoutYou
Brother, Sister

THE REVIEW

Phase One - The First Listen

Classic, clichéd, almost stereotypical scene. I'm in the car with a friend whose musical tastes diverge radically from mine in many ways and, precisely because of this, we spend hours discussing the matter "animatedly," each politely presenting our own point of view and supporting it with lengthy and educated arguments (remove any moderation from what I've described, and you'll get a fairly realistic image of the situation).

The car is his, therefore the car radio is his, and consequently, he has "the latest (we're talking about 2006) great novelty, a band you must absolutely listen to, etc etc." The pearl of the scene is his attempt to make me like them even before listening, with pretentious insinuations like: "You'll hear, the voice sounds like Robert Smith's" (considering that, although I've stopped chasing adolescent myths, I continue, and probably will continue, to have a boundless passion for the Cure).

After all these premises, I finally manage to hear the first notes sung by Aaron Weiss, the singer of MewithoutYou. The initial reaction is to launch a series of invectives against my friend, guilty of invoking good Bob without any reason. Having dealt with this formality, I focus better on the album, which initially leaves me a bit cold. The music is a rather irregular indie-rock, well arranged, perhaps with a somewhat flat rhythm, touches of emo and hardcore, nothing revolutionary given the period. But the voice has a strange effect on me, almost irritating: whining and troubled (is this the link with Smith?), rough and angry in the crescendos, thick and weak in the more relaxed moments.

Phase Two - The Second Listen, the Third, the Fourth…

Let it not be said that my friend lacks character. MewithoutYou becomes an essential element of our car journeys. Somewhere between habit and habituation, the voice begins to no longer bother me as much as it did before. Furthermore, I begin to notice some gems in the sound department, primarily the architecture of the guitars. I decide to get this blessed (never was an adjective more fitting) album and finally listen to it carefully.

Phase Three - The First Voluntary Listen… and All the Others!

It convinces me more and more. I discover that what seemed simple and at times clichéd, too standard for the scene, in reality, hides more complex constructions, interesting and never predictable solutions that concede nothing to immediacy. I discover that the bass is not always just a monotonous background, but (although more timidly) invents intriguing and attractive passages with intelligence. The voice is a separate matter. Taken individually, it continues to give me more than one perplexity, yet I convince myself (does it convince me?) that it is perfect for the context and all those I once considered defects suddenly become its greatest merits. In its complexity, the album has a very compact development, punctuated by short acoustic pieces serving as interludes.

It is definitive. I like this album, I begin to pay more attention to the lyrics. The little I had managed to grasp relying solely on my ear constituted an interesting premise: a certain modern lyricism, poetic images not devoid of dark veins, no insipid stereotypes… a certain mystical tendency, which usually does not disturb me. But my English is not quite reliable, so better read something. I find some news: I discover that they are a strongly Christian band and that "Brother, Sister" is a concept directly adapted from the Canticle of the Creatures (you might say: "with that title, you could have figured it out yourself!" You are right, but, what to say, one does not expect it!). Before stumbling upon some delirious page where they are expressly judged for this, I decide to personally read the lyrics, not to be (further?) influenced. The biblical framework is undeniable and almost inevitable, but personally, I do not judge them as fanatics. After all, the power of words largely resides in interpretation. A moral reflection is not automatically an attempt at indoctrination.

And anyway, when someone tells us something, we should not forget that, very simply (and peacefully), we have the right to disagree…