S2|E5: Leaf

This is one we know a lot of you have been waiting for! In addition to this being our usual sidewinding fare, we also have, for the first time ever on the podcast, a guest to help us break down this track! Garrett Mikulka is a long-time listener who reached out to us way at the beginning of the podcast to share some thoughts and mention that he had A LOT of thoughts on this track. After some back and forth over the years, we decided he just needed to come on the pod to talk about those thoughts. Garrett was an English PhD student who worked on fables and myths and he brings a lot of really useful insight to the storytelling, the use of talking animals, and the possible morals at play here.   Want more uswithoutThem? Consider supporting us on Patreon! We're offering a number of cool perks! Check it out here. Take a look at our TeePublic store! Get your hands on shirts from previous seasons, plus our brand-new “Avant Garde Christian Children’s Music” tee from Season 4! Get yours here! Please consider rating and reviewing the podcast on Apple, Google, and Spotify! For more info about the podcast, including show notes, short blogs, and host info, visit our website: uswithoutthempod.com Join our Facebook group to keep the conversation going: uswithoutThem Podcast Keep up with the latest on social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

Let’s dive in! Discussing the first track of the album, the guys break down Ricky’s intense drum work, point out the ways in which this track feels like a straightforward worship song, and Joel brings Augustine into the conversation.   Want more uswithoutThem? Consider supporting us on Patreon! We're offering a number of cool perks! Check it out here. Take a look at our TeePublic store! Get your hands on shirts from previous seasons, plus our brand-new “Avant Garde Christian Children’s Music” tee from Season 4! Get yours here! Please consider rating and reviewing the podcast on Apple, Google, and Spotify! For more info about the podcast, including show notes, short blogs, and host info, visit our website: uswithoutthempod.com Join our Facebook group to keep the conversation going: uswithoutThem Podcast Keep up with the latest on social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

No more thought, we ought to do, yet here we are again. Season 4 is here! This season, we dig into mewithoutYou’s fourth and possibly most divisive album, It’s All Crazy! It’s All False! It’s All a Dream! It’s Alright. The guys wrestle with the album’s unexpected shift in sound and the reactions it stirred at the time. They explore the contemporary music of their scene and popular music in general. Nic lays out the framework for how he’ll use Tolkien in relation to this album. The crew contends with the inscrutable nature of some of the album’s source material, pays tribute to a former band member seldom discussed in previous seasons, and making plenty of mice more than mice as they spin off some theories. Off we go into the fire!   Want more uswithoutThem? Consider supporting us on Patreon! We're offering a number of cool perks!  Check it out here.   Take a look at our TeePublic store! Get your hands on shirts from previous seasons, plus our brand-new “Avant Garde Christian Children’s Music” tee from Season 4! Get yours here!   Please consider rating and reviewing the podcast on Apple, Google, and Spotify! For more info about the podcast, including show notes, short blogs, and host info, visit our website: uswithoutthempod.com Join our Facebook group to keep the conversation going: uswithoutThem Podcast Keep up with the latest on social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

Happy Thanksgiving! While we’re hard at work preparing Season 4, we’ve got a holiday treat for you. In this special bonus episode, the guys sit down with legendary producer Brad Wood, who produced Catch for Us the Foxes, Brother, Sister, and countless other cornerstone albums that helped define the scene. They dig into the stories, sounds, and unexpected moments behind the music that shaped the bands most quintessential albums. Enjoy! Want more uswithoutThem? Consider supporting us on Patreon! We're offering a number of cool perks including podcast merch, bonus episodes (like this one!), live episodes, a Discord community, and more!  Check it out here. We've opened a TeePublic store! Now you can get one of the awesome no-longer-hypothetical t-shirts discussed in Season 3 and new one ahead of Season 4! Get yours here! Please consider rating and reviewing the podcast on Apple, Google, and Spotify! For more info about the podcast, including show notes, short blogs, and host info, visit our website: uswithoutthempod.com Join our Facebook group to keep the conversation going: uswithoutThem Podcast Keep up with the latest on social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

Steven's Pick: Brad Mehldau Bandcamp Joel's Pick: PÆRISH Bandcamp Nic's Pick: Bâan Bandcamp Joel's Vinyl Instagram Patreon subscribers get early access to these episodes, so if you'd like to listen as soon as these drop, consider subscribing via the link below! Want more uswithoutThem? Consider supporting us on Patreon! We're offering a number of cool perks including podcast merch, bonus episodes (like this one!), live episodes, a Discord community, and more!  Check it out here. We've opened a TeePublic store! Now you can get one of the awesome no-longer-hypothetical t-shirts discussed in Season 3 and new one ahead of Season 4! Get yours here! Please consider rating and reviewing the podcast on Apple, Google, and Spotify! For more info about the podcast, including show notes, short blogs, and host info, visit our website: uswithoutthempod.com Join our Facebook group to keep the conversation going: uswithoutThem Podcast Keep up with the latest on social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

In this Staff Picks bonus episode, Steven joins the crew as they each spotlight hidden gems and recent favorites. Nic dives into Birds in Row, Steven discusses the Bluey soundtrack and takes a nostalgic detour through ’90s cartoons, and Joel covers Somerset Thrower.   Birds in Row Bandcamp   Somerset Thrower Bandcamp   Go watch Bluey, it's great!   Patreon subscribers get early access to these episodes, so if you'd like to listen as soon as these drop, consider subscribing via the link below! Want more uswithoutThem? Consider supporting us on Patreon! We're offering a number of cool perks including podcast merch, bonus episodes (like this one!), live episodes, a Discord community, and more!  Check it out here. We've opened a TeePublic store! Now you can get one of the awesome no-longer-hypothetical t-shirts discussed in Season 3 and new one ahead of Season 4! Get yours here! Please consider rating and reviewing the podcast on Apple, Google, and Spotify! For more info about the podcast, including show notes, short blogs, and host info, visit our website: uswithoutthempod.com Join our Facebook group to keep the conversation going: uswithoutThem Podcast Keep up with the latest on social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

It’s the inaugural episode of our bonus series Staff Picks! In this series, the guys spotlight newer or under-the-radar albums they think deserve some love. Joel kicks things off with The Quiet Year by Suzallo, and Nic follows up with Awkward Breeds by The Sidekicks. Suzallo Bandcamp The Sidekicks Bandcamp Patreon subscribers get early access to these episodes, so if you'd like to listen as soon as these drop, consider subscribing via the link below! Want more uswithoutThem? Consider supporting us on Patreon! We're offering a number of cool perks including podcast merch, bonus episodes (like this one!), live episodes, a Discord community, and more!  Check it out here. We've opened a TeePublic store! Now you can get one of the awesome no-longer-hypothetical t-shirts discussed in Season 3 and new one ahead of Season 4! Get yours here! Please consider rating and reviewing the podcast on Apple, Google, and Spotify! For more info about the podcast, including show notes, short blogs, and host info, visit our website: uswithoutthempod.com Join our Facebook group to keep the conversation going: uswithoutThem Podcast Keep up with the latest on social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

It's our first bonus episode! The guys sit down with Mike Almquist, manager extraordinaire, to talk all things spider songs, touring nightmares, early 2000s emo, and a lot more! Patreon subscribers get early access to these episodes, so if you'd like to listen as soon as these drop, consider subscribing via the link below!   Want more uswithoutThem? Consider supporting us on Patreon! We're offering a number of cool perks including podcast merch, bonus episodes (like this one!), live episodes, a Discord community, and more!  Check it out here. We've opened a TeePublic store! Now you can get one of the awesome no-longer-hypothetical t-shirts discussed in Season 3 and new one ahead of Season 4! Get yours here! Please consider rating and reviewing the podcast on Apple, Google, and Spotify! For more info about the podcast, including show notes, short blogs, and host info, visit our website: uswithoutthempod.com Join our Facebook group to keep the conversation going: uswithoutThem Podcast Keep up with the latest on social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook 

We've reached the finale! The guys are joined by Aaron Weiss to discuss the album, recollections from the recording process, and some highlights from the season, and discover together that sometimes... a mouse is just a mouse.   Want more uswithoutThem? Consider supporting us on Patreon! We're offering a number of cool perks including podcast merch, bonus episodes, live episodes, a Discord community, and more!  Check it out here. We've opened a TeePublic store! Now you can get one of the awesome no-longer-hypothetical t-shirts discussed in Season 3 and new one ahead of Season 4! Get yours here! Please consider rating and reviewing the podcast on Apple, Google, and Spotify! For more info about the podcast, including show notes, short blogs, and host info, visit our website: uswithoutthempod.com Join our Facebook group to keep the conversation going: uswithoutThem Podcast Keep up with the latest on social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook 

Surprise! Part 2 of our "In A Sweater Poorly Knit" discussion is here. We talk holy fools and fields without fences, correct a mistake three years in the making regarding circles, probe the limits and limitlessness of language, and try to arrive at some understanding of what it means to not exist. And fawn over how awesome Greg's bass playing is some more. It's the most packed episode yet!   Want more uswithoutThem? Consider supporting us on Patreon! We're offering a number of cool perks including podcast merch, bonus episodes, live episodes, a Discord community, and more!  Check it out here. We've opened a TeePublic store! Now you can get one of the awesome no-longer-hypothetical t-shirts discussed in Season 3 and new one ahead of Season 4! Get yours here! Please consider rating and reviewing the podcast on Apple, Google, and Spotify! For more info about the podcast, including show notes, short blogs, and host info, visit our website: uswithoutthempod.com Join our Facebook group to keep the conversation going: uswithoutThem Podcast Keep up with the latest on social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook