I hate to say it, but the title says it all. Ever since Captain Brock of SS Modest Mouse enlisted Johnny Marr as his first mate, there has been a great deal of hype and anticipation. Enough time had passed since their mainstream breakthrough, Good News For People Who Love Bad News, for fans and the general public alike to expect a new album. In general, Modest Mouse’s sound has been very eclectic, ranging from punchy anthems (Float On), New Order’ish (The View), trancy (Tiny Cities Made Of Ashes), and mellow hipppy folk (Dramamine). In between all of that, some discordant noise is thrown in to wreck the melodies in the right places. The sonic palette in their latest release is as broad as previous releases. There’s enough jangle, groove, yelping, and dissonance to please any Modest Mouse fan. Standout tracks include the syncopated “Education,” the beautifully melodic “Little Motel,” the classically Modest Mouse “Invisible,” and “Spitting Venom” with its southern flavor.
Given the praise, my one issue with Ship is that it lacks depth. Even though there is a nautical theme to most of the songs, there isn’t much to them lyrically. Good News with its pop instinct had lyrics that told stories and stuck in the listener’s mind long after the listening was over. The songs of We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank are for the most part repetitive and hardly memorable. Where is the quirkily literary Modest Mouse we all love in this? “Dashboard,” the single to anchor the release of this album, is ephemerally busy. Its hooks evoke that of an old Oingo Boingo or English Beat song while played, but is simply forgettable after that. Which brings me to the music. While it has all the bells and whistles to mark it a Modest Mouse album, the melodies are not as strong. To compare them to Radiohead, if Good News is OK Computer or the brilliantly unstructured Kid A, then Ship is the directionless Amnesiac.
This may be Modest Mouse at their worst, but their worst is better than some other current band’s best. The Killers go for some depth with their latest, but We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank kicks their ass. A very competent release, but Modest Mouse is more than competent.
