TOP 12 OF 2007: #5. Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

#5
Modest Mouse
We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

Modest Mouse has spent well over a decade refining a sound built on extreme contrasts. On the one hand, you have the raw, redneck-gone-punk intensity of front-man Isaac Brock, with a voice that veers between a David Byrne warble, an early-XTC Andy Partridge bark and a wild growl reminiscent of Tom Waits or Captain Beefheart. But take this rusty-barbed-wire vocal style and lash it to music that, while sneering and herky-jerky, still has a certain approachable post-punk danciness to it and even, at times, a sense of tender contemplation.

This is the conflicted stew that led to Modest Mouse’s 2004 commercial breakthrough, Good News for People Who Love Bad News. And three years later, they’ve followed with an album that preserves all the things that made their last so fascinating and likable, but with an even more assured and muscular sound.

The success of We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank is thanks, in part, to the unlikely addition of Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, who provides a subtle but effective complement to Brock’s own fretwork. Another factor is the guest backing vocals of Shins singer James Mercer, whose clean, pure style elevates tracks like “Florida” and, most impressively, “We’ve Got Everything,” to powerful and memorable heights.

But for all that is new, the trademark Modest Mouse sound has largely remained intact. In particular, “Dashboard” plays like a pumped-up, more lushly-orchestrated sequel to their last album’s hit single, “Float On,” while “Education” recalls the alternating tortured vocal lines and blaring guitar responses of “Bury Me with It.” Similarly, the disco-tinged, angtsy funk of “Fly Trapped in a Jar” brings “The View” to mind.

And while We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank may play like a direct sequel to or reinterpretation of Good News for People Who Love Bad News, that’s not a bad thing. In many ways, this latest offering actually improves on its predecessor—an impressive accomplishment, to be sure. So while it may be modest (no pun intended) in its exploration of new musical ground, this is quite simply a terrific release that stands as one the best of the group’s career.