Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
Group at the Top of Their Game (link)
4/20/07
Let’s get straight to the point. This review came about as a result of two recent Modest Mouse related events that happened to me almost simultaneously. The first was the fact that the first headline in my daily Billboard Magazine email read “Modest Mouse earn first #1 debut with We Were Dead…”. Then, only a few hours later I received an email from an excited reader of my blog telling me that, although their debut album was great and had “Float On” on it, their follow-up is even better and I’d be crazy not to check it out. Oh, and that if I hadn’t heard of Modest Mouse yet I was missing out and should look them up as soon as possible. I smiled upon reading this, promptly wrote them back giving a thank you for the recommendation, then reminded them that this newest release was actually Modest Mouse’s fifth full-length with plenty of EP’s on top of that as well. I clicked “send” then thought to myself, “Well, looks like I’ll be reviewing Modest Mouse this week”.
Isaac Brock and his gang of Modest Mice have been making their strange brand of music for nearly ten years now and their recent success is somewhat baffling. I can’t claim to be a fan from the beginning, as that would have made me a fan of their debut This is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About at 12 years old, and you know that’s not the case. But I’m pretty well versed with their discography and each of the five full-lengths are quite different from each other. To the point that you’d be hard pressed to find a fan that didn’t initially hate at least one of Modest Mouse’s albums only to like the new direction the band had taken after a few listens. That was the case then, and it’s still the case now with the differences from Good News for People Who Love Bad News and their latest release We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.
Good News was Modest Mouse getting their second wind. Most say it was them selling out because of the radio friendly sounds and success it received, but I saw them in concert in 2002 at an all day festival with Cake and The Flaming Lips and Modest Mouse just looked burned out. They were all visibly drunk and they played as if they could care less any more. It was annoying to the point that I refused to go see them the next two times they came to town, but something happened in the studio in 2003 when they started recording Good News that not only reinvigorated the band’s love for music, but also cheered Isaac Brock up in the process.
Good News was a happier Modest Mouse and the disappearance of the emotionally driven songs of angst and loneliness were replaced by genuinely happy, optimistic songs with fun guitars and Isaac’s encouragement for us not to worry, we’ll all just float on alright. Previous fans were left scratching their heads in confusion, but still bobbing them at the same time, and the rest of the country proved what they’ve proven time and time again, that pop sells, even if you can barely understand the energetic yelps of the lead singer.
So, cut to three years later and we find Brock and company rejuvenated once again and one member larger, with the addition of The Smith’s old guitarist Johnny Marr. The new jangly, Smiths-like guitar parts coupled with Brock’s undeniable personality prove to be an excellent fit and really add to Modest Mouse’s overall sound. The most obvious Marr guitar part is found in the opening riff of their first single “Dashboard”, which, if you’re dead set on finding this album’s “Float On”, would be that song.
I originally titled this review “Good News for People Who Enjoyed Good News for People Who Enjoy Bad News”, but figured that was a bit excessive and confusing, but in all honesty, that title really sums up what We Were Dead accomplishes. It should keep fans of their previous album happy, but also finds the band expanding greatly on that sound with more complex arrangements, the addition of Johnny Marr, and the usual smorgasbord of genres found throughout.
While Marr is an addition that doesn’t make sense on paper, but is almost immediately found to be a perfect fit, such as on songs like “Fire It Up” and “Little Motel”, the best addition to this latest album is James Mercer of the Shins on backup vocals. His voice is so complimentary to Brock’s that you wonder why their long time friendship didn’t bring this about on earlier albums, but Mercer’s melodic wails add immeasurably to the three songs he is on; “Florida”, “Missed the Boat”, and “We’ve Got Everything”. I can’t imagine the chorus of “Missed the Boat”, which is an unusually accessible jaunt for Modest Mouse, without Mercer singing “And we carried it all so well/as if we got a new position/oh, and I’ll laugh all the way to hell/saying yes this is a fine promotion” along with Brock.
By the time you reach the end of We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, chances are you’ll be smiling, you’ll be exhausted, but will eventually want another listen to catch all the little stuff you know you had missed. At nearly an hour long, you may need to take a break before giving the album another listen, but the length ultimately proves to be the album’s only weakness. It’s a real shame the album stretches itself a bit too much because the songs at the end, such as the nine minute “Spitting Venom” and the album closer “Invisible”, which is “Dashboard” without the immediate catchiness, are some of the album’s best.
Ignore the length and you’re left with Modest Mouse’s best album in years with We Were Dead. It’s an album that runs with the success of Good News and builds and expands on those songs in the best possible ways. There’s horns, strings, Johnny Marr’s guitar, James Mercer on backup vocals, and the usual ravings of Isaac Brock in full on We Were Dead and besides possibly a translator for some of Brock’s most energetic singing, I can’t imagine needing anything more. We Were Dead is the perfect follow-up to Modest Mouse’s unexpected commercial success and is just as strange and unaccessibly accessible as you’d expect from Modest Mouse. It may have been odd to see Modest Mouse at the top of the Billboard charts a few weeks ago, but they’re at the top of their game with this latest album, and with as good a band as they are, and as good as We Were Dead is, success should not only be unsurprising, but expected.
