Modest Mouse

We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank

Written by: PP on 04/06/2007 15:38:45

Modest Mouse has long stood on the throne of complex indie rock at least according to the critics, and after listening to the curiously titled "We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank" it's not difficult to understand why. The album is multi-dimensional enough to attract the indie rock apologists as well as the radio rock fans and everything in between, and there's an aspect about almost every song that can be liked regardless of what your individual preferences in music might be.

Take "Fire It Up", for instance. At the first listen, it seems awfully simplistic, with only a few notes supporting the calmly sung chorus, but yet it is irresistably catchy, and works as a great example of what a band with enough songwriting talent can do with just a few notes and instruments at a time. In subsequent listens it is possible to find a new, previously unknown aspect about the song each time, whether it's the gradually fading/strengthening guitars or the other instruments that softly appear and disappear in various passages of the song. The album opener "March Into The Sea" comprises of the quirky guitars we have grown accustomed on Modest Mouse's rockier major label records, and is perhaps the most interesting song on the record. Vocalist Brock really shines here, and for some odd reason reminds me of a crazy pirate with his rum-drenched voice - anyone else who gets the same vibe as me?

I personally would have liked the band go more towards the direction of the aforementioned "March Into The Sea", and avoided the avant-garde experimentalist approach taken on the more silent songs like "Missed The Boat". That being said, they are still good songs but the majority of them don't ooze as much weirdo complexity-vibe as the rest of the album, which fits the band much better in my opinion. But still, if you are looking for unpredictable indie rock in its more experimental form, Modest Mouse is still the go to band for those listeners.

7

Download: March Into The Sea, Fire It Up
For the fans of: Bear Vs Shark, The Shins, The Flaming Lips, The Decemberists
Listen: Myspace

Release date 30.04.2007
Epic Records

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