I received We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (the source will be kept a secret), Modest Mouse's latest production, recently. Initially I approached this album as a way to rebind ties with myself and indie rock (oxymoronically produced on the Sony BMG label). In the last two years I've lost much faith and attention with the rather vaguely named, all-encompassing field of Indie Rock. For the most part, I've just become interested in other music. Modest Mouse was a bad attempt at rekindling my interest in the genre. More so, I've never been particularly supportive of Modest Mouse, being unimpressed with The Moon & Antarctica.
While We Were Dead is a much more interesting album than The Moon & Antarctica, it doesn't really change my opinion about this band. Furthermore, I can actually tolerate the music on We Were Dead as a opposed to the former album. Maybe that's due to the addition of Smiths guitarist, Johnny Marr, but I doubt it. Likewise, I find the Smiths obscenely overrated, but if I had to choose, I'd pick Marr as the better quarter of the Manchester four-some.
I still can't tolerate Isaac Brooks' awful bellows on this album, however. Its like listening to a horrible, out of tune, drunken, over excited, microphone-hogger at a cheap karaoke bar. Furthermore, I really can't empathize with this general view that Modest Mouse keeps testing and pushing limits and musical boundaries (as stated by allmusic.com). A majority of the album seems like well done rehashes of sentimental, vulnerable acoustic guitar, typical three-chord Indie-Pop or Gang Of Four-inspired angular, dance-y riffs (Dashboard is an example). Its well done however, and quite catchy, but it feels as if Modest Mouse just wants to blend in with other Indie trends or they're too afraid to challenge their Caucasian, over dramatic, indie fans.
Lastly, I'll admit that I'm not a lyrics kind-a-guy. The aesthetics of songs appeal more to me and maybe, if it pricks my ears well enough, I'll listen to what a singer has to say. Modest Mouse has some of the worst lyrics ever, period. Between Isaac Brooks' drunken delivery and some awful attempts at lyrical abstraction and melodrama, I feel like burning my ear phones. Maybe its due to the fact that I do not read a book everyday or look up poetry for inspiration or am a resident of the East Coast but I really can't handle Modest Mouse's penmanship. Am I alone in thinking this is some stupid songwriting for the song, Spitting Venom?:
We were spitting venom at most everyone we know/
If the damned gave us a road map/
We'd know exactly where to go/
Let it all drop/
I know this is a harsh review but actually Modest Mouse's latest work was not so awful and quite tolerable which says a lot coming from a guy that loathes this band.
