Review of the New Modest Mouse Album: We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

Washington-based rockers Modest Mouse have been a staple of the alternative community for nearly 11 years (14 if you count the time they were together before releasing an album). The frantic noise-rock guitars of front man Isaac Brock and machine like drumming of Jeremiah Green quickly pushed them up the Seattle rock scene ladder.

2004's Good News for People Who Love Bad News, the band's mainstream breakthrough, put off a few of the "original" fans. Still, its complex instrumental arrangements and production value made it a favorite of those who could get past their "liked 'em before they were cool" mentality.

But something happened over the last three years to make Modest Mouse's newest album, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, an unfocused effort.

The album starts off strongly with "March Into the Sea," a nautical-themed song featuring Brock's cryptic, pessimistic songwriting style. The accordion riffs and chorus bells are a throwback to the in-depth arrangements of Good News, and Brock's maniacal laughter adds a nice, visceral touch.

"Dashboard," the album's first single, was slammed by the so-pretentious-it's-sickening team at Pitchfork Media. While Jessica Suarez, one of the site's "talented" reviewers claimed she could already hear the Kidz Bop version of the song, the truth is that it's one of the best tracks offered. A solid dance beat, energetic horns and falsetto backing vocals make "Dashboard" the kind of song that can stick in your head for days on end. And while the lyrics aren't Brock's most profound, they're catchy as hell ("Well, you told me about nowhere/ Well it sounds like someplace I'd like to go-oh-oh-oh-oh/ Now here we go!")