Album Review / Preview: Modest Mouse "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank"

When "Good News for People who Like Bad News" came out a few years ago, Modest Mouse seemed like one of those indie bands on the verge of going mainstream. A lot of that album sounded like an Indie version of U2, and songs like "The World at Large" could work as cover fodder for a singer like Annie Lennox. Licensing songs for beer commercials didn't help their street cred much either.

While this new album "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank"'s first single, the disco-tinged "Dashboard", was a little more raucous, it looked like Modest Mouse would continue in that direction. It follows closely in the footsteps of Franz Ferdinand, the last alternative band to really make it big.

But "Dead Before the Ship" comes as a surprise- There are only a few other songs in the disco-indie-rock stream ("Education" is another one). Almost entirely throughout, this is a gritty, substantial album. If you're expecting "The World at Large", your first reaction is likely to be, "What the hell is this?" Guitars shriek atonally, and lead singer shout-screams with more gusto than ever before -it makes his vocals on "float On" sound shaky and insecure in comparison. It's got a bluesy, discordant feel.

Of course, while these elements set the foundation for a decent album, they don't guarantee a really good one. Two things differentiate it from what you've already heard though-

First, the guitars are doing a lot, and underneath the blare there's some great musicianship going on. I wondered when Modest Mouse had become such great, inventive guitarists, and finally recalled that Smiths legend Johnny Marr had joined the band. Marr more than pulls his weight here.

Second, like, say, Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse is experimenting with other instruments and sounds too. But instead of letting other influences consume their sound, they've found ways of letting it underscore their drunken, inventive bar-band sound in ways that enhance it rather than consume it. "Spitting Venom" starts with Isaac Brock hollering hootenanny over a twangy acoustic guitar, and breaks into a full-band all-over-the-place mess. But by the halfway point things change- Organs kick in, and
Brock begins to whisper sing over horns and single string delayed licks.

There's one instant where Modest Mouse shows that they haven't forgotten how to make the brand of Indie-pop they've forged. The subdued "Little Motel" is as soft, pretty and catchy as anything they've done in the past.

Also see: review of the new Arcade Fire album Neon Bible.