Skip to main content

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

Image
By


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
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

May Day Is Lei Day

By
For the past 31 years in Honolulu, the Brothers Cazimero have hosted an annual May Day variety show at the Waikiki Shell Ampitheatre (because May Day is Lei Day!). When living there, I had the privilege of attending twice, the last time being the 30th anniversary, and just after the sad passing of the legendary Don Ho. Both times were, at the risk of allowing my cynical mask slip, magical. The May Day show is great fun, and follows the format of an old time variety show -- there is an aura of glamour interspersed with a decidedly camp sensibility, with hula stars of past and present gracing the stage. Spirits are high, and the banter among the performers is priceless; at times it feels as though you've wandered into a family reunion, and are a long lost cousin -- instantly at home and enveloped in the warmth. It's a time to celebrate the spirit and culture that truly do make the islands such a special place. There's a song that plays before the Sunset On The Beach movies...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Racoon Wedding :: Gather Gather Bones/Rattle Rattle Truth

By
Download The Paper Boy from The Racoon Wedding's album, Gather Gather Bones/Rattle Rattle Truth Sounds Like : they're gonna rip your ribcage out and find your heart RIYL : White Rabbits, Portugal. The Man, Fanfarlo, Rolling Stones ala Beggar's Banquet From the Press Release : Forming from the ashes of Vermicious Knid, and authoring songs in the basement of the all ages not-for-profit art space they own in a nook of the city’s forgotten downtown, frontman Tim Ford and company boast a sense of loyalty to their community that few other bands share. On their debut LP, Gather Gather Bones/Rattle Rattle Truth , issued this October via their own Ford Plant Recordings Co., the band enlisted the help of engineer Leon Taheny (of the Final Fantasy recording credit) and hammered out a record that teems with the spirit of long-forgotten roots music. It’s indebted to the history of mighty back porch music: unbridled, unedited, beautifully intense.
Post a Comment
Read more

Contest! Design the Official Decemberists Show Poster

By
On March 18th, The Decemberists will give the debut live performance of their epic new song cycle The Hazards of Love when they headline NPR Music's SXSW showcase at Stubb's in Austin. To mark the occassion, Capitol Records (who will release the album on March 24) and Imeem are inviting fans to design the official poster for the showcase with a contest -- the winning design will be hand-picked by the band and contestants can enter on the Decemberists' Imeem page . The Decemberists will play The Hazards of Love, in sequence, in its entirety. Joining all five members of the band on stage will be Lavender Diamond’s Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden, who lend leading vocals to the album. Opening bands are North Carolina trio The Avett Brothers, set to debut songs from its forthcoming album produced by Rick Rubin, and bluesy rockers Heartless Bastards, riding the success of its third record, The Mountain. The concert will begin at 10pm CST and will be str...
1 comment
Read more