Aaron Weiss has never hidden that he is a religious man. Ever since mewithoutYou’s 2002 debut A to B Life, he made his faith clear in his lyrics. But what happens when you start to question your authority on such topics? This uncertainty has burrowed itself deeper into the singer throughout the years, and as a result his message has waned to the point of focusing more on how he’s singing rather than what he’s singing for the band’s upcoming sixth studio album, Pale Horses. 

However, this shift in focus should not be seen as a bad thing—these songs seem to be mewithoutYou’s most melodic and accessible to date—and as Weiss attempts to navigate his own thoughts his words are as eloquent and heartfelt as ever. While eating mulberries straight from a tree on his back porch, the front man recently opened up to Myspace about his gradual lack of confidence, how a spiritual guide opened his eyes to his own personal flaws and the books and people that inspired the words on Pale Horses.

I feel like you guys put a little more focus on the instrumentation than usual on this album.

I don’t know that I was thinking in those terms but I can definitely agree that I was trying to approach my contribution to the songs as more of me playing an instrument rather than having a message I was trying to communicate, so in that respect I tried to make the sound of my voice fit more fluidly with the music. Not that I didn’t try to do that before, but I think in the past I tried to prioritize what I’m saying and this time I’ve taken that down a little bit and try to prioritize how my voice sounds to a listener and try to keep what I’m saying a little more ambiguous and open-ended.

What made you decide to go with the former for this album? 

I’ve just been thinking and reading more about language and words and how hard their meanings are to pin down—even simple words, let alone complex, lofty ones that I’ve long since been fascinated with. So I sort of questioned my ability to communicate anything worthwhile. If I’m not sure that I’m going to say something that’s going to help anybody or say anything that’s true, then I might as well make it sound pretty. That’s an oversimplification, but it came from me being less confident in my power to save anybody.

Did anything in particular happen that made you start feeling that way about your lyrics?

If I had to pinpoint any one thing, it’d probably be sitting with a guru. I had kind of a spiritual guide for a few years. I would go and sit with him; he was someone who would talk to me about God and about who I am and what I know, and it was humbling because he cut through me in a lot of ways. He cut through my arrogance and showed me how arrogant and foolish I am. It was difficult to sit with him because he showed me all the ways I was and am a hypocrite, and it made it hard to take myself seriously when I tried to go out and talk about God or truths or love or any of these great big concepts without any real authority. But it wasn’t just him, there are so many things in life that show me that. Like anybody, I want to understand myself and my own motivations and intentions so I try to question those things and I see more and more how my motivation for this band is totally selfish and totally ego-based, so it starts to feel really silly to try to masquerade that I’m trying to do some holy work when really I just like the attention. 

What would you say were your largest inspirations for this album? 

I’ve been reading a lot of James Joyce—he has such a fearless approach to writing and experimenting with totally different styles of writing even within the same book, that was sort of liberating...also an author by the name of Tagore. He was a poet in the early 20th century who wrote very beautiful, heartfelt spiritual lyrics, so I tried to emulate some of that spirit as far as praise and hope, to counteract talking about deconstructing things and questioning things. There’s also a book called the Sacred Harp, which is a collection of hymns. That was actually probably the biggest influence of all because I’ve been so immersed in it since our last album. It’s basically my only form of musical experience or expression outside of the band...it’s a whole subculture of people who get together and sing these a cappella songs. My wife and I sing almost every day together and sometimes go to these big gatherings to sing for hours. That has affected me not only in terms of melody and harmony but also lyrical content.