(Indie/Post-Hardcore) mewithoutYou - Ten Stories [Deluxe Edition] - 2012, MP3, 320 kbps

Ten Stories is the 5th album from Philadelphia based Indie experimental rock band mewithoutYou. It tells the story of a circus train that derails during a snow storm south of Trout Creek and west of Cedar Lakes. When the train crashes, the circus animals go there separate ways making up the ten stories of the album. With each new album, mewithoutYou creates something new and unique while somehow managing to keep their signature sound. Aaron Weiss, the lead vocalist and songwriter, always writes with such finesse and creativity making each song something more than just words to music. I’ve always been a fan of his songwriting and this album has some of the best songs that Aaron has written. Does it reach the personal and emotional heights of something like Brother, Sister, their 3rd album? No. But I think Aaron was going for something different with this album. Instead of focusing on more personal lyrics (not saying that these aren’t), he tries to infuse himself into each character and does so successfully. I have to admit, I didn’t love this album on first listen. It took me a few more spins and eventually reading along with the lyric book that came with the deluxe edition to really understand the story and to fall in love with what Aaron and the gang were presenting. While it’s still not my favorite mwY album, I think it ranks as one of their best and will definitely be on my top 5 albums of 2012 (unless something else takes its place). Each song is unique and tells a compelling story, which makes me want to revisit this album more and more. While I don’t 100% “get” the story quite yet, I love the fact that you do have to think about what it all means rather than having it spelled out for you. Most modern pop songs just give you everything in one swing, but not mewithoutYou. Each of their albums make you think and really examine your life; more so than other bands of this genre. mewithoutYou isn’t for everyone. But if you give them a chance, you might find yourself thinking more about your surroundings and wondering about things you might not have thought about before. A track by track review is featured below.