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Well isn’t 2007 turning out to be quite the year for indie bands? Already we have been treated to new offerings from The Shins and Arcade Fire, now Modest Mouse throws their own hat into the ring.
You may well recall Modest Mouse rising to prominence in 2004/2005 with their platinum-selling Good News for People Who Love Bad News – containing the #1 crossover hit ‘Float On’.
With We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, their fifth album, we see that there has been no time spent resting on their laurels. The line-up, now bolstered with Johnny Marr (formerly of The Smiths), delivers a melange of angry, frenetic, melodic and at times reflective, indie rock music. The good news for fans old and new, is that this is their best work yet.
The standout tracks on the album would have to be first single ‘Dashboard’, the mid-tempo ‘Fire It Up’ and the acoustic based ‘Missed the Boat’. These are three vastly different songs, but all with the same dark soul. On ‘Missed the Boat’ you are struck by Isaac Brock’s sweet harmonies, delightfully out of place as he sings about life’s lost opportunities;
“Oh, and we carried it all so well, As if we got a new position, Oh, and I laugh all the way to hell…”
I did say it was dark.
Despite this often bleak outlook, special mention should be made of Brock’s lyricism. Throughout, he displays an uncanny ability to bring abstract concepts to life and fill them with meaning. On ‘Fly Trapped in a Jar’ he poignantly sings, “it's always been said, that one wing isn't even enough…. isn’t even enough to leave”. This is one collection where the lyrics offer listeners their own rewards.
My only frustration with We Were Dead… is the disjointed song order. This is no slight on the quality of songs, it’s just somehow you don’t get that ‘album’ feel which could have made this release truly great.
This is a minor quibble though.
Modest Mouse has presented us with an artistic victory. They have kept their own unique style, while continuing to explore and push the boundaries of their talents. Nice work.
Essential Tracks
Dashboard
Fire It Up
Missed The Boat
Full Track Listing
1. March into the Sea (3:30)
2. Dashboard (4:08)
3. Fire It Up (4:36)
4. Florida (2:59)
5. Parting of the Sensory (5:36)
6. Missed the Boat (4:26)
7. We've Got Everything (3:42)
8. Fly Trapped in a Jar (4:31)
9. Education (3:58)
10. Little Motel (4:46)
11. Steam Engenius (4:28)
12. Spitting Venom (8:29)
13. People as Places as People (3:44)
14. Invisible (4:01)
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