mewithoutyou - brother sister
The first official UK release from mewithoutyou comes in the form of 'brother sister', an album that while exploring philosophical, spiritual and interpersonal relationships has each track telling a story through chaotic poetry.
The album opens with 'Messes of men', which has some special effects sounds in the form of the relaxing tinkling of water, while being accompanied by the soft gentle tapping of piano keys. Later the central music kicks in for the chorus, bell chimes add some great effects, yet the vocals remain low throughout, and seem to leave no space for breath.
As the album continues, the vocals seem constant, when the screaming commences, as it does on 'Wolf am I! (and shadow)', 'Nice and Blue (pt. two)' and the bonus track 'January 1979', the album seems too loses my attention. At times, the vocals take on a Mid West country twist, specifically on 'Yellow Spider' and 'Orange Spider'. At other points on the album, such as on 'A glass can only spill what it contains', the vocals are just plain dull and uninteresting. There is however times when the harmonies are stand out and really appreciated, such as on 'Nice and blue' and 'In a sweater poorly knit'.
For much of the album, such as on 'Wolf am I! (and shadow)', the music is upbeat, then there are the softer tunes like 'Yellow spider'. In terms of the musical side to this album, there are of course strong guitars of 'The dryness and the rain', there is what sounds like a harp that helps blend the acoustic guitar and vocals together in 'Orange spider', 'Brownish spider' sounds almost magical and the ping of strings and guitar on 'In a market dimly lit' are priceless. At times, the vocals and music on 'O, Porcupine' do not seem to be in sync with each other, but all the mistakes and blunders are made for with the beautiful 'In a sweater poorly knit', which has some stunning beats and concluding strings that wrap up the album wonderfully.
After listening to the album, and giving my opinion, I am curious though as to why there are no spaces in the band name?