RECORDINGS Quick Spins
RECORDINGS Quick Spins
Modest Mouse, with Isaac Brock (right) and now featuring former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, has a potential hit on its hands with "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank."
(By Kevin Winter -- Getty Images)
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WE WERE DEAD BEFORE THE SHIP EVEN SANK
Modest Mouse
Northwest alt-rockers Modest Mouse toiled in relative hipster obscurity for a decade, finally swan-diving into the mainstream three years ago with the melodic crossover single "Float On." Singer-guitarist Isaac Brock has an undeniable sound -- an appealing hybrid of wild-eyed vocals, post-punk songcraft and frantic jangle-funk -- but it is Brock's newfound affinity for the pop hook that keeps widening Modest Mouse's audience.
Bolstered by the surprise addition of ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, Modest Mouse hits another commercial home run with its new album, "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank." Riding string flourishes and Brock's snappy chant -- "Oh, the dashboard melted, but we still have the radio" -- "Dashboard" is an irresistible summer anthem. He deserves major props for cold-calling Marr and inviting him to join. This album won't sell 1.5 million copies like 2004's "Good News for People Who Love Bad News" (after all, who buys CDs now?) but Modest Mouse, invigorated by Marr's old-school guitar strut, offers constant incentive to take the bait.
Brock's yelps and Marr's pogo-stick riffs conjure a Talking Heads aura on "Florida." Glossy and accessible? Sure. But quirky jaunts such as the slow-building "Spitting Venom" stay off-kilter enough to satisfy all but the edgiest Mouseketeers. The name of terrific shoutalong "We've Got Everything" -- a taunting dance-floor riff that recalls the sass of the Cure -- perfectly sums up these songs. Ignore the CD's title and loose seafaring theme: Modest Mouse is far from dead, and this ship definitely ain't sinking.
DOWNLOAD THESE: "Dashboard," "We've Got Everything"
-- Michael Deeds
OUT OF THE WOODS
Tracey Thorn
