The New Modest Mouse Is Hard to Love, But Even Harder to Hate
By KingEd on May 1, 2007
This review originally appeared in Phawker.com.
Whew! My head hurts from all the time I’ve been spending with the latest Modest Mouse album, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. This thing’s hard work. When did the world get so smart that they all get it and I’m not sure I do? This band’s moving units, right, and you can’t attribute their appeal to hot looks and sweet hooks. In an act of brutal self-analysis, I persevered. And yes, I’m a better man for having done so.
For the first few spins of this new Modest Mouse album, all I could think of was why I find this band so difficult to like. Their angular funk marches, which are nevertheless not very danceable, aren’t too far removed from the noisier side of XTC, a band I went so far as loving to defend the excessive-by-their-standards The Big Express. At times, such as on the hit single “Dashboard” and “We’ve Got Everything”, those angular funk marches verge into the ‘80s Bands Reunited territory of The Fixx as interpreted by Dave Matthews Band. Fair enough, but no reason to feel tormented by this record.
The sea chantey choruses of songs like the opener, “March into the Sea”, could not set this fan of Pere Ubu’s “Caligari’s Mirror” over the edge. Not at all. In fact, if I had my druthers the production of this album would allow for the clanging guitars to fight for space with singer Isaac Brock’s hectoring yelp. And no, hectoring yelps in an of themselves, I kept telling myself, are by no means deal breakers. But something about Brock’s yelp had me playing the first 4 or 5 songs over and over, never feeling the slightest bit satisfied beyond the brief, rare, melodic Flaming Lips-styled elfin interludes of songs like the opener and “Fire It Up”. Then it came to me: When did Bobcat Goldthwait get reborn as an indie rock singer? To carry on, I would have to steer clear of the deadly Bobcat segments.
Early on, “Florida” gave me some hope, sounding like one of those hopeless bids for a hit single off a Fontana-era Pere Ubu album. When I finally made it to a track called “Missed the Boat”, the seas began to part. With chiming guitars; choral vocals; and a brief, melodic guitar solo, this number went down easy. How I needed to get my bearings straight.
The album ends with a string of songs that display challenging arrangements; hectoring, good natured, self-critical verses and grand, anthemic choruses; undanceable funk marches; and those damned segments in which Brock channels Bobcat. A song called “Steam Engenius” had me scratching my head with a bad case of “What the hell does this remind me of?” until I remembered the verses to Led Zeppelin’s “Southbound Suarez” mixed with an early XTC backing vocal device. Land ho! The punishing journey of trying to find a way to like this album had paid off. I want to go home.
10 comments
I was an early mainstream adopter to the last album. When I heard "Float On" I knew it was hit worthy and catchy (it even made it to Kids Bop for cryin' out loud!).
I bought the last CD and liked the whole thing pretty much (I listened to "Bury Me With It" just the other day). Never heard of them before that. His voice is so out there and the band's history of drugs and Isaac's sketchy past (and unstable present?) are not something I'd normally be attracted to, but I find his word-play and odd song elements strangely compelling. I also like the production of Dennis Herring. I will most likely be picking this new disc up.
BTW - I was never a Smiths fan so the addition of Mr. Marr has no extra pull with me...
Marr is in Modest Mouse? I could be wrong, and it doesn't really matter much, but...it doesn't sound like he's adding anything to their sound...I mean, they sounded pretty much like this before.
It's kind of like Pat Smear being in Nirvana. Is this a new phenomenon in rock? Are there other "vanity" acquisitions that are almost entirely for the sake of prestige (if this is, in fact an example of such an acquisition)?
I don't hear anything that Marr has brought to the table, like Art kinda said, what's the point of him even being in the band.
I feel the same way about Nels Cline in Wilco.
Did anyone see them on Letterman last night? The singer guy was playing a Jerry Garcia-like guitar and wearing that GI Joe hat again. Not a bad performance, but that song annoys the crap out of me.
Townsman Ed nails a lot of what I've felt about this band. I've never heard anything prior to their previous album. Did they always sound this way, or did they have a more raw period?
I loved the last two MM albums but this one is pretty flat, I think.
On the other hand, Kpdexter, your Nels Cline comment is totally mind-boggling to me.
Did they always sound this way, or did they have a more raw period?Lonesome Crowded West has always been my favourite and seems kind of more raw than their newer stuff does to me. My Uncle Bruce and I trade CDs every time he and my Aunt come down from Florida and years ago I walked away with some Modest Mouse and really loved it. I liked the album before this last one okay, and I guess this one sounds even more polished to me, but not in a bad way I guess. Just less lo-fi noise-punkyness. The Ugly Cassanova Sharpen Your Teeth album might be a good one to look into Jim if you haven't heard it already.
i'm even more surprised that people "don't understand the term"...
and i'm EVEN MORE surprised that people aren't familiar with the artists named....
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