The Daily Spin, January 12
mewithoutYou | Brother, Sister
Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023. It’s Day 12. Double digits!
Last night of travel. We’ll be back in the One True Time Zone going forward.
Each album will be given a rating on a scale from 0 to 10. You can look at the entire set here.
If you want to suggest an album, good news! You can do so right here!
Album: Brother, Sister (2006)
Artist: mewithoutYou
Link:
It’s late, and I’ve had a few drinks, but here’s what I’ll say to this - if you’re going to make a rock album, make a rock album. If you’re going to make a spoken word album, make a spoken word album.
Unfortunately, mewithoutYou have tried to do both, and not found themselves particularly successful at either. It’s an album that, if you listen, is pretty quick-witted, possessing some surprising depth to the lyrics - but all of that means very little because of a vocal performance that actively seems to hold disdain for the music under it.
If this were a live album, that’d be a different story, but this isn’t, and that’s… not really the sentiment you want. I’m whelmed.
When the album is good - such as In A Market Dimly Lit - there’s a little zing to the guitar, some pretty well-built hooks, and riffs that carry the wobbly vocals in a manner that complements them, but outside of that, it feels like two sides in a war of attrition that neither can possibly win.
Rating: 5.4/10
Best Tracks: In A Market Dimly Lit
Worst Tracks: The Dryness and the Rain