Catch for Us the Foxes — mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou's Catch for Us the Foxes came out on Tooth & Nail on 5 October 2004. It's twelve tracks and runs forty-five minutes fifty-nine seconds. The band recorded it at Seagrass Studios in Los Angeles. Brad Wood produced, engineered and mixed it, with Robbie Lackritz assisting, and Troy Glessner mastered it. The cover painting is by Vasily Kafanov and the design is by Asterisk Studios. The band was Aaron Weiss, Michael Weiss, Richard Mazzotta, Christopher Kleinberg and Daniel Pishock. Scotty Kruger of The Psalters sings the cry of the Exodus on "Four Word Letter (Pt. Two)," and Chick Wolverton plays e-bow on "Son of a Widow." The title comes from Song of Songs 2:15. It peaked at No. 20 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart in the week of 23 October 2004. It's poetic post-hardcore and indie emo from Tooth & Nail's mid-2000s run.

Who they were in 2004

In 2004 they were a Christian post-hardcore band from Philadelphia on Tooth & Nail. Faith runs all through the lyrics, but it's raw, not polished for the church bulletin.

What the critics keep saying about this album

AllMusic's Alex Henderson put it well. He heard gutsy, punk-drenched alternative rock with Christian elements that are there but never overt, and cathartic, confessional, stream-of-consciousness writing that Christians and non-Christians alike can relate to. It's not a sermon, and that line about anyone being able to relate is still the one people quote.

AbsolutePunk gave it 91% when it came out on 5 October 2004, and that's a high mark by anyone's standard.

Josh Taylor at Jesus Freak Hideout reviewed it on 4 October 2004. He heard poetic post-hardcore that's a touch less aggressive than [A→B] Life, with Weiss less urgent but still full of screaming and angst. He said "Son of a Widow" is the closest the band gets to singing. He called the vocals love-them-or-hate-them, so fans would rejoice and detractors would hear the same "obnoxious noise." That's a fair warning, and it's why this record won't win everybody over.

Opus reviewed it on 11 June 2005 and said nearly every song grabs you. It pointed to the Psalm-like imagery and the Hebrew chant Scotty Kruger brings to "Four Word Letter (Pt. Two)," compared the atmosphere to U2 and The Cure, and heard an energy close to Arcade Fire.

Punknews ran two reviews that split the way this record always has. The positive one praised the songs at either end, "Torches Together," "January 1979," "Carousels" and "Son of a Widow," along with smoother production than the debut and spiritual themes that don't preach. It called "January 1979" the highlight. The negative one called the vocals divisive, just "random shouting," and admitted to liking only "January 1979," and only on some listens. Both are worth hearing, because that fight over the vocals is part of what this album is.

Elsewhere, God keeps coming up without the record turning into a tract. "God is love and love is real" turns up on "The Soviet," framed as a personal struggle, not something pushed on you. Critic after critic lands in the same spot. This is where mewithoutYou's confessional post-hardcore comes into its own, and you don't have to join a club to get it.

Five tracks from this LP

Torches Together is the opener and one of the songs the positive Punknews review praised. It kicks off Brad Wood's smoother production, a step on from the debut.

January 1979 was the official video, and it leads off the videos. Both Punknews reviews picked it out, and it's the song from that Heatseekers run that people still reach for.

Paper Hanger got an official video too, and it's the punch in the middle of the record.

Carousels is another one the positive Punknews review praised. It's the late turn that makes the whole thing feel like one album instead of a pile of singles.

Son of a Widow is the song Taylor said comes closest to singing, and Punknews praised it as the closer. Wolverton's e-bow is on it, and it's the landing after all that screaming and angst.

"Four Word Letter (Pt. Two)" is worth hearing too, for Kruger's Exodus cry and the Hebrew chant Opus noticed. After these five, try "The Soviet," "Tie Me Up! Untie Me!" and "My Exit, Unfair." Taylor's warning about the vocals and the negative Punknews review's point about shouting are fair. So are AbsolutePunk's 91% and Henderson's point that anyone can relate to it.

The score

It gets an 8/10 from me.

I can't go to nine. Taylor warned you'll either love or hate the vocals, and the negative Punknews review heard random shouting and only liked "January 1979" on some listens. But seven is too low. AbsolutePunk's 91%, Henderson's praise for cathartic, confessional writing that Christians and non-Christians can relate to, the No. 20 Heatseekers peak, Brad Wood's production at Seagrass and the "January 1979" video all still stand up more than twenty years on. It's the mid-2000s Philadelphia record that matters, even with its rough edges.

Where this album sits on Loud Faith

Christian post-hardcore on Tooth & Nail in 2004 was bigger than a lot of people remember. It meant Philly tour vans, titles pulled from the Song of Songs, Brad Wood at Seagrass, and kids arguing about Weiss's voice in the car park. Catch for Us the Foxes is mewithoutYou's mid-2000s high point. It climbed the Heatseekers chart without going soft, AbsolutePunk loved it, and the vocals still divide people. Put on "January 1979" first.