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Modest Mouse :: We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

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M O D E S T M O U S E
We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

I have started and stopped this review oh, five times now; all the while trying to find a starting point, an objective voice. However, I realize that I cannot be objective about Modest Mouse, and we at Duck and Cover are not journalists. We are enthusiasts, and, honestly, seldom is anyone objective about something that they’re truly enthusiastic about. We love Modest Mouse, and have loved them for years and years, loved them since they were merely a blip on the radar of popular culture at large. (For the record, that’s post Lonesome Crowded West, yet pre Moon and Antarctica; we’re cool, and we have cred, but we’re not that cool. Though yes, we would like very much for you to believe otherwise.)

Digressions and birdwalking aside, let’s get down to what’s important; that being a truly great record from a truly great band. Let’s also point out that this review is NOT going to focus on the real or imagined contributions of one J. Marr, a guitarist of, apparently some renown, who may or may not have been a member of what may or may not have been one of the most significant bands of the 1980s. Marr’s contributions are obvious, yet they manage not to be obtrusive; this is the mark of an exceptional musician. Sadly though, most reviews that we’ve read thus far seem to focus more on whether you can or cannot hear Marr, as opposed to really talking about the record. We prefer to talk about the record.

WWDBTSES is much darker than the somewhat more upbeat Good News for People Who Love Bad News. The album opens with the creak of a ship and a distant accordion before being overtaken by the crash and thunder of MM, with Isaac Brock imploring “Treat me like disease, like the rats and the fleas…” and then surges forward into the insanely catchy single “Dashboard”. Far from dissecting the album track by track (or trying to identify standout tracks), we’ll just say that the record is very, very good. James Mercer of the Shins guests on the tracks “Florida”, “Missed the Boat”, and “We’ve Got Everything”, and his vocals are a decided complement to Brock’s. In fact, our money is on “Missed the Boat” as 2007’s summer anthem. One listener even said “so let me get this straight. This is Modest Mouse, the Smiths, AND the Shins? Well, how could it not be good?” Exactly, and well put.

Somehow, Modest Mouse managed to expand their lineup, literally doubling it, and end up with a record that was, somehow, more Modest Mouse than the last two records that they had made. The greatest accomplishment of WWDBTSES is the melding of the raw energy and musicality of their early work (LCW and before) with the lyricism of the Moon and Antarctica, and the sophistication and polish of Good News to create something new and beautiful, yet instantly familiar.

Modest Mouse
We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
Epic Records, 2007

Highly recommended
Hear the track "Missed the Boat" :: Listen
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