So many albums take inspiration from childhood stories. Probably because the images and emotions these characters and tales inspire are universal to most people.
The band mewithoutYou’s new album, “It’s all Crazy! It’s all False! It’s all a Dream! It’s Alright,” takes the universal elements of childhood stories and gives them a decidedly adult spin with grown-up lyrics and darker themes.
The album features some of the best folk music melodies and beats I’ve heard lately. It’s not often an indie folk rock album makes me bob my head and tap my toe — but this managed to do it. MewithoutYou has crafted some intense, large scale songs that recall choral arrangements in their scope.
The smaller, more intimate songs are reminiscent of old-fashioned lullabies in all their catchy glory, and although there are also a few blow-off-the-doors songs on the album, the vast majority start small and build momentum to the very end. “The Angel of Death Came to David’s Room” is a good example of starting small like a nursery rhyme and building to a huge finale.
The nursery rhyme influence is obvious in the lyrics and the overall construction of the songs. The lyrics’ sound is deceptively childish in their phrasing, but that assumption quickly goes away upon closer examination. While references to town bakers and the troubles of talking animals abound, the lyrics address some very adult themes.
“Fig with a Bellyache” is about preparing for winter at first glance, but on second listen it’s found to be about sex and the ways people pretend to get what they want physically. Sadly, lead vocalist Aaron Weiss’ singing can be distracting on first listen. His flat, kind of nasally whine can be a little grating because it doesn’t sound like a traditional singing voice. If you give the album a few spins his vocals become less distracting and fit surprisingly well with the overall childlike feel of the album.
If his voice is viewed as that of a storyteller instead of just someone to sound pretty, it actually works to the album’s benefit.
Overall, mewithoutYou’s “It’s all Crazy! It’s all False! It’s all a Dream! It’s Alright” is definitely worth a listen.
But remember — the album also benefits from a second listen, so make sure to give it a chance before dismissing it. It’s an interesting way to subvert the normal expectations of folktales and mewithoutYou makes big life ideas and lessons easier to contemplate by wrapping them in an easy-to-listen format. Which, come to think of it, is exactly what a fairy tale is supposed to do.