++Mewithoutyou "Brother, Sister" (Album)

Passionate, raw, poetic, spiritual, earthy, challenging, engaging, unique, and introspective. These are some adjectives that come to mind when I ponder the scope and the creativity behind this band, particularly on this album.

For those that don't know about them, maybe a little background on the band might help. Mewithoutyou consists of two brothers, Aaron and Michael Weiss (on vocals and guitar), as well as three friends filling out on guitar, bass, and drums. The Weiss brothers grew up with a range of religious influences, considering that their mother was raised Episcopalian and father was raised Jewish, both converting to Sufism (a mystical division of Islam) either before or sometime after the boys were born. The Weiss brothers were thus raised in this atmosphere of mysticism surrounding those in Sufism. Sometime near the end of high school, after starting a band Aaron came to know Jesus as Savior, rather than a good Prophet (as his parents surely did); and out of this new faith births the biblical, spiritual lyrics and the incorporation of the faiths he has been surrounded with since childhood also bleeds into those themes present in the lyrics. One forefather of Christian faith that has quite obviously molded some of Aaron's views is St. Francis of Assisi (being Patron Saint of Animals, Environment, and Italy). In fact, the title of the album Brother, Sister is taken from Francis' song Canticle of the Sun. In it he clearly sees God in all of nature and the things He has made, seeing worship extending beyond our conventional ways of lifting hands and singing songs, but observing His nature and wonders expressed through the created things and giving Him glory for these things. And from these observations come praise to God for the sun and moon, for natural created things of earth, for life, and for death. 'Praise Him in all things' seems to be St. Francis' message. Some of us may not be used to such expressions of worship or faith, however we may be introduced to them if we choose to embark on the journey of Brother, Sister. Why say all this? Well it helps prepare you for the stream-of-consciousness, spoken-word, free verse style of lyrics composed by Aaron and the group. Much emphasis is placed on animals and life lived truthfully, expressing the hurts, doubts, failures as well as the joys, trust, and victories found in knowing Jesus. It helps to see Aaron as first a poet with a gift for expressive words rather than a vocalist, for at times his approach to singing/shouting/spoken word can turn some off who are used to very classically trained singers who never seem to crack in voice or stray from perfection. But this music is raw, the lyrics heartfelt, and so his delivery only strives to complement that by being expressive and authentic in his emotive way. Yet, no matter how I sugarcoat it, to some it will just sound like noise but to others they will hear what might be the most inventive Christian band around, and possibly, that ever has been. I guess I could share how I haven't really had much 'faith' in Christian music because it has continually let me down with horribly mediocre music and some cookie-cutter lyrics. This, in my opinion is neither; inventive shifts in musical melody, and poetic confessional and even abstract lyrics abound here with Mewithoutyou. So, go ahead listen to this album. Test it, study it. Dislike it if you so choose, or love it if you want (joining others and myself). Regardless of where you land, at least give it a spin. I leave you with an excerpt or two of songs:

"'I do not exist,' we faithfully insist, while watching sink the heavy ship of everything we knew.

If ever you come near I'll hold up high a mirror. Lord, I could never show you anything as beautiful as you"----Messes of Men

"A fish swims through the sea, while the sea is in a certain sense contained within the fish.

Ah, what am I to think? Of what the writing of a thousand lifetimes could not explain, if all the forest trees were pens and all the oceans ink?"----The Dryness & The Rain

Check out Mewithoutyou at www.mewithoutyou.com