Seven months ago, I wrote on Copeland’s Ixora as my first review for this site. In the opening paragraph I stated my reasoning behind listening to Copeland in the first place; in short, I said that I embraced old trends before they were popular again. Looking back, I realized there was more to this decision than the aforementioned. As I continue to discover new music, I prioritize my listening into two different categories; music that I’ll eventually listen to, and music that I have to listen to right now. The former category is quite often ignored until the opportunity presents itself for me to dive into an artist’s work. This was the case with Copeland, and to be honest it happens quite often. Now, it’s June and the time has come to listen to yet another artist in the first category, mewithoutYou. The biggest difference between November’s situation and now (other than the passing of time) is that mewithoutYou’s newest record, Pale Horses, is currently my only exposure to the band’s discography. Up until a week ago, I had heard nothing but praise for their work, but had never actually listened to their music before. After seeing that this record was streaming in advance, I figured the time had come to finally start listening. Now some who are reading this might find it odd that a man who has never even listened to mewithoutYou’s previous records is reviewing their newest. Believe me, there are definitely other writers on this site that have heard their back catalog and could’ve easily given you an informed, well thought-out opinion of this record. That being said, I believe my situation presents an interesting opportunity. Having never even heard a mewithoutYou song in my life, I had no expectations going into this record. I had no previous material to form a bias. I think that’s kind of what a band wants when they release a new record. They want the listener to focus on this body of work alone, for dwelling on the past would skew their judgement of this record on its own. While I won’t be able to rank Pale Horses in comparison to the rest of mewithoutYou’s discography, I’ll be able to give you something just as good: unfiltered and unaffected honesty.

Pale Horses opens with the track “Pale Horse”. Musically, it’s a very organic-sounding track as the reverb of the guitars is accompanied by some heavy percussion while the vocals are fed through some sort of filter. Lyrically, it incorporates elements of the book of Revelation and other apocalyptic scenarios. While short, both aforementioned aspects combine quite nicely to set up the rest of the album. Following track “Watermelon Ascot” dives into a moderate rock sound that is lyrically heavy. I enjoyed the overall instrumentation and the incorporation of Anthony Showalter’s hymn “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” in the bridge. “D-Minor”is naturally, well, a song in D-minor, but its lyricism is quite personal as it describes a parallel “divorce” of sorts; once between a fictional couple whose marriage ended before it really even began, and another that’s borderline hubris as we hear “This is not the first time God has died”, as if the narrator has had a falling out with God. So far this record definitely incorporates the concept of a “personal armageddon” into its lyrical content. “Mexican War Streets” has some really great guitar work, and the lyrical aggression of the previous track is carried over, and begins to appear musically as well.

“Red Cow” continues drawing its lyrical content  from Revelation, but also gathers from Exodus as well. It’s hard to decipher its exact meaning, but it’s hard-hitting, nonetheless. The chord progressions in the guitar are also very enjoyable, and the overall musical aspects of the track line up well with the lyrics. It transitions nicely into “Dorothy”, which lyrically compares the narrator’s loneliness with that of Jesus during his crucifixion, as he cries out “Eloi, Eloi, Lama sabachthani” (“My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?”). While “Blue Hen” almost sounds like “Watermelon Ascot”, “Lilac Queen” is a little bit softer. There’s a nice key change halfway through, but like many tracks on this album, it’s the lyrics that make this track stand out. Elements of nuclear holocaust and ISIS show up in a quite-creative way, even if their presence makes the track feel quite dark.

“Magic Lantern Days” is, musically, the most optimistic the record has sounded in quite a while. It might be ignored at first at this point in the record, but its more positive tone lets it stand out a bit in the latter half of the record. “Birnam Wood” draws from the story of Abraham’s plan to sacrifice Isaac to God, as well as specific references to Macbeth. When I first heard this track, I couldn’t help but think of some of the songs on From Indian Lakes’ sophomore record, Able Bodies. Their resemblance is almost uncanny. Pale Horses closes with “Rainbow Signs”. The opening acts as a reprise of sorts to the first track, but we’re treated to a six minute culmination of everything that’s come before. Lyrical content contains references to multiple recollections of Armageddon, particularly Revelation. The accompanying music fits perfectly, and the song as a whole ends on a slightly positive note without referencing Armageddon or Judgement, since we’ve already encountered a lot of that.

It’s taken me quite a few listens to appreciate Pale Horses. On one hand, I was blown away by its complexity and detail from my first listen, but I keep discovering something new every time, be it references to multiple faiths, different underlying instrumentation, etc. I could easily see this record being one of the best albums I’ve heard all year. It could also mark the beginning of my admiration for mewithoutYou as I begin to listen to their other albums. It’ll definitely take some time for me to have a complete opinion formulated, but as a first-time listener, I’m highly impressed with what mewithoutYou has done with Pale Horses. Don’t pass this up.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBXGUyDnXXo[/youtube]

Score: 4.9/5

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