Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank Review
Posted by James Munson on 03.21.2007
Northwestern-based indie giants make another unbelievable album for Epic Records featuring the likes of Johnny Marr and James Mercer of The Shins.
Modest Mouse’s success story is an interesting tale. Having put out several albums and sporadic singles on smaller record labels like Up and K Records, their first major label LP, The Moon and Antarctica was a slow-burner that bridged the gap between older, purist Modest Mouse fans and the larger audience they would eventually reach with the success of “Float On”. Moon not only retained qualities of older Modest Mouse records (the same way The Crane Wife by the Decemberists isn’t that great of a departure from Picaresque), but one of its songs was used in a commercial (“Gravity Rides Everything”) and the band toured non-stop as headliners and openers on the Unlimited Sunshine Tour with Cake and The Flaming Lips.
Moon was re-released again in 2004 a month before Good News for People Who Love Bad News, a sign that Sony/Epic tried to milk the “up-and-comers” for as much as they could (luckily, for fans, the bonus BBC tracks were worth the price). Soon enough, “Float On” flooded the internet, MTV, and radio stations both pop and alternative and the band’s audience increased dramatically. Once again, they became a touring juggernaut with a more beefy line-up that included upright bass, computer digital samples and two drummers. The question now might be whether Modest Mouse have tried to make a purposefully inaccessible follow-up in response to their newfound fame or if they took another step toward accessibility given the fact that the formula worked so well for Good News.
The answer is a further progression of what Good News started instead of a bland retread (see Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s second album in comparison to their first). Word to the wise: if you weren’t a fan of Modest Mouse before, you probably won’t change your mind after listening to this record. Beginning the first few seconds of lead track “March Into the Sea” with a waltzy, polka-like intro, everything kicks in near the first twenty seconds with vocalist/lead guitarist Isaac Brock shouting, “If food needed pleasing you’d suck all the seasoning off/Suck it off!” What comes after is an onslaught of soft-loud-soft dynamics with snare clicks and strings and Brock’s imperfectly sputtered words of onomatopoeia (“Klang! Klank! Klang! Klank!”).
From this point on, the album submerses itself in bubbly numbers with overlapped shout/sung vocals – all courtesy of Brock – and the presence of a new force, ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. Credited as an official member on Ship – to the delight of many, including myself - his guitar work meshes well with Modest Mouse’s unique brand of indie rock instead of working against it. His influence is prominent especially on songs like the beautiful, shimmery “Little Motel”. “Education” is just as catchy and bouncy as a Pixies-esque tune can be that features lyrics like, “All this dog and pony, we’re still monkeys the whole time, we could not help from flinging shit in our modern suits and ties.” Even the faster-paced, chaotic “Florida” - which features James Mercer on backup vocals – could be a perfect follow-up summer single like “Ocean Breathes Salty” was for “Float On”.
Other notable tracks include the trotting, upbeat “Fire It Up” which features chants of “fire it up” and “fine enough”. “Parting of the Sensory” starts with Brock’s soft-sing style vocals and handclaps before kicking into a hybrid disco-like shuffle/country-style breakdown. It also has some of the most sensible, yet bizarre lyrics I’ve heard from Brock, which isn’t saying all that much (“This fits like clothes made out of wasps! Oh fuck it, I guess I lost.”). It’s difficult for a band like Modest Mouse with such a unique sound to expand upon their strengths and not succumb to repeating themselves, especially to the point of self-parody. Over the course of five records, not counting various singles compilations and EPs, Modest Mouse has not only managed to keep their sound fresh, they also continue to make interesting, challenging records. Isaac Brock says it best on the introduction to “We’ve Got Everything” when he sings, “We’ve got everything down to a science…” In his band’s case, truer words have never been spoken.
The 411: Once again, Modest Mouse made a challenging, fantastic record. Not as instantly catchy as Good News for People Who Love Bad News, this album still has plenty of pep and will interest fans who got into the band during their last record as well as their followers since The Moon and Antarctica and before. This band is light years away from losing steam and I believe they will only continue to surprise everyone with what they have yet to accomplish.
