Modest Mouse — We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank

Modest Mouse, even at their least artistic, are still more entertaining than 90 per cent of the acts who rule the charts. We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank takes them even further into the pop world than Good News For People Who Love Bad News did. So if you gave up on Modest Mouse when you couldn't reconcile "Ocean Breathes Salty" against "Doin' The Cockroach," you will find little comfort here. Don't be deceived by the bombastic yet polished opener, "March Into The Sea." Isaac Brock's shouty opening verses and Jeremiah Green's monster drumming aren't the promising precursor you might hope they'd be. The song is one of the best tracks on the album, and its frantic energy isn't matched on any of the 13 tracks that come after it — least of all the lead single, "Dashboard." For all the bad advance press, "Dashboard" isn't really so terrible; it just feels like a phoned-in radio single. But like so many songs on the LP, it will get stuck in your head. That's actually the most prevalent problem with We Were Dead. It's as catchy as crack, but it has hardly any staying power. "Florida," one of three songs that features vocal contributions from The Shins' James Mercer, has a chorus melody you'll hum for days. After a week, though, you'll inevitably say with disdain, "God, you know what song I can't get out of my head?" On the plus side, "Parting Of The Sensory" has the same swirling, seething vocal layers and effects that made The Moon And Antarctica so engrossing. The slow, rumbling guitars on "Little Motel" and the twinkling "Fire It Up" serve as welcome breaks from the monotonous disco beat that carries through the faster tracks. Those songs plus the dizzying "Steve Engenius" and the aforementioned opener are actually good enough that they stack up favourably with Modest Mouse's stellar back catalogue. We Were Dead isn't a total misstep, but it mostly fails to build on the promise the band who first blurred the lines between indie and major put forth on their last two records.