Before I launch into this one, let me get this straight: Modest Mouse are the best band you'll never listen to. Or they're already your favourite band. There's just no middle ground.
Well there is, but for the sake of hyperbole and a sensationalist headline, YOU'RE WRONG!
With that finished, allow me to take the time to preach to you a few reasons why you'll <3 We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.
One) Johnny Marr is a member.
Bam, straight out there. After their former guitarist left in 2006, ex-Smiths guitar God Johnny Marr joined up, and played lead on We Were Dead. As a Smiths fan, this excites me to a degree bordering on fervor. But let's face it, you don't need to obtain fan boy status to appreciate the guitar-playing qualities of Marr. He single-handedly makes standing stock still cool. And that, amongst other reasons (like inventing indie) makes him awesome, and Modest Mouse awesome by proxy.
Two) They're as experimental as a guitar band can be.
That title's there for a good reason - modest mouse are very much a guitar band. You might be thinking 'char, but [obscure 70's electronic/acid disco/jazz fusion four piece] [Used a birch twig to play keyboard wearing nothing but tights]'. Modest Mouse aren't that kind of band. However, they have shown dogged enthusiasm for lyrical, vocal and instrumental variation. Just take the 20 second accordion solo that introduces March Into The Sea. Or the rambling banjo that strums it's way across their previous album, 'Good News For People Who Love Bad News'. Yeah, they're not reinventing the genre, but at least they're trying something a little bit different.
Isaac Brock - front man, lyricist, guitarist and vocalist. He does it all. He's dreamy. But really, the way in which he alternates between semi-scream, even and warm with a quirky edge and intimately quiet is a real draw, and the combination of these various vocal styles add individuality to each track. See 'The Parting of the Sensory' for a great example of this.
Five) Choons.
Whether it be the anthemic chart-topper Dashboard, the chant along Fire It Up or the sobering Little Motel, Modest Mouse are fine purveyors of music from the first track to the last. Differentiations in song type (Fast, slow, loud, quiet etc) are fairly standard, but the difference is in the execution. Which, as you might expect given the general tone of this post, is of the highest standard. End of.
So there we are. Now go listen!
For Starters, download: Dashboard & Florida
Love to you all.
2 comments:
Yep
This band rocks!
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