Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

This is a bit of an exaggeration of distaste. I wrote it for the "Reeks" half of a Rocks Vs. Reeks column. Enjoy.

Modest Mouse aren’t so modestly mousy anymore, with a number one album and expensive music videos to boot. Its just a shame that one of their worst albums is already their most popular. The band, still floating on the success of their last album, Good News for People Who Love Bad News, released the single “Dashboard” weeks before the new album dropped. Teeny boppers tuned into their local top 40 station to hear a toe-tapping dance track with (the self-mutilating?!) Isaac Brock doing his usual mumbling and shouting. I’ll be honest, I like the song. All you Moon and Antarctica stalwarts need to lighten up and shake your asses. As for the rest of the album, I’ve nothing but criticisms. The first track, “March into the Sea”, is reminiscent of a Unicorns b-side. And the vocals sound like a surly boozehound being hauled off to the drunk tank. I can only assume the song “Fire it Up” is tongue in cheek, as the band crafts one of the most boring songs of the year. On “Missed the Boat” (ooh, the album has a nautical theme!!), the boys appear desperate in their attempts in incite a feel-good sing-along. There are a handful of moments on the album that hint at the now-latent greatness Modest Mouse is capable of, but these moments are few and far between. With all the hype, money, Johnny Marr, and James Mercer being stirred into the pot, I assumed the result would be something tastier than this. I was wrong.