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April 17, 2007
Modest Mouse with new record, guitarist
Modest Mouse’s newest single “Dashboard,” of their new album We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank starts off in very much the same manner that 2004’s “Float On” did. A catchy and danceable guitar riff and driving drum beat accompany front-man Isaac Brock’s spastic chant-along vocals in MM’s typical pop-single style for the first several minutes of the song. Somewhere around the electronic beeps-and-bloops bridge of the song, the direction of the music takes a grandiose turn employing all kinds of string and horn harmonies. After listening to “Dashboard,” only the second song on the album, it is apparent that Modest Mouse has once again evolved their sound without sacrificing the characteristic quirks that make them fun to listen to.
Modest Mouse’s success has been anything but overnight. The band, hailing from Issaquah, Wash. (close to Seattle), originated in 1993 but began to pick up steam with their 1997 release, The Lonesome Crowded West. In 2000, they put out their major label debut, The Moon and Antarctica, on Epic Records. Though they had yet to break into the top 40 charts, they had gained recognition among many as a sort of weird indie rock band with folksy roots. Most radio listeners will remember their 2004 release Good News for People Who Love Bad News that revealed them as one of the most powerful forces in rock.
Most of the press has been blabbering about how Johnny Marr (former guitarist/writer for the Smiths) collaborated with Brock in the writing process for the new album. It was later revealed that Marr not only collaborated in the writing and producing of the record, but also recorded guitar and would tour with Modest Mouse in support of it. Marr’s influence is undeniable but not overbearing. For instance, spazz-out tracks like number four “Florida” don’t lack the kind of scream-along intensity that MM has always possessed, but they do contain a fresh pop sensibility that the band honestly needed.
Other songs, like “Parting of the Sensory,” “Fly Trapped in a Jar, ” and “Spitting Venom” call back to MM’s older tunes from The Lonesome Crowded West ą songs simple enough to be sung around a campfire that are recorded to sound vast, weird, and sometimes elaborate. Still, the best songs on this album are the ones that combine the traditional Modest Mouse with the new band. Songs like “Missed The Boat,” and “Steam Engenious” are perfect examples.
Modest Mouse plays Apr. 20 and Apr. 21 at The Orpheum. Tickets are $20.
Posted by dwright at April 17, 2007 11:53 PM
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