Posted: 03/28/07

Modest Mouse
We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

Patrick Smith | contributing writer
psmith4@smcvt.edu

Recently there has been a lot said and discussed about how iTunes and the Internet is changing how music is made and distributed. This has been a valid discussion, but something is often left out. The way that some people listen to music is changing, and some people are deeply in love with their ability to listen to their music on shuffle. If this is your habit, then Modest Mouse’s newest release We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank can be a welcome addition to the shuffling.

If you are inclined to let an entire album play in one sitting, then its flaws are much more apparent. We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank's fourteen tracks clock in at over an hour, including an eight minute long song, “Spitting Venom.” That song becomes an example of one of the major flaws of the album as a whole. There is no reason for its eight minutes, and it only causes a waning of interest. Though no songs are particularly bad, many aren’t offering anything particularly great either. The repetitive feel is its biggest weakness as an album. Nothing really changes as the album goes on, the quality is consistent at an acceptable level. Yet, if any of the tracks popped on while shuffling, any casual Modest Mouse fan would be sure to enjoy it.

The addition of Johnny Marr on guitar provides for some interesting moments on tracks such as “We’ve Got Everything” and “Missed the Boat,” though none of it is particularly inspiring, or original. He does nothing to change the headstrong charge towards a more radio-friendly sound that started on Good News For People Who Love Bad News. This isn’t to use radio-friendly as a derogatory term, it just isn’t a stretch to imagine hearing most of this album playing mainstream radio. This feeling of not a good thing, but not a bad thing either becomes the album's dominant theme.

One of the most disturbing weaknesses of the album is what seems to be its attempt to pander towards the sense of the indie gone mainstream. The opening track, "Missed the Boat," is not the only place that Isaac Brock has the band venturing towards the well trod sea shanty motif. Though catchy, it remains better left to Colin Meloy. The guest vocals of The Shins' James Mercer is only a little more effective. His effort helps make it one of the more enjoyable tracks, in the summer radio hit manner.

We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank’s saving grace is the variability within each song. Almost every song on the album plays around with pace changes, from romping and stomping to calmly melodious within the same song. The structure of each song relies on a variability of styles and speeds to help it along. Even when “Parting of the Sensory” seems to be consistent in its simply guitar and clapping, it breaks down in the end. This playing with structure, while compelling for the most part, just shows the album's weakness by the end. It relies on it so heavily that it becomes predictable and bland, a repetitive fault.

The one true relief is “Little Motel.” Here Brock finally doesn’t feel the need to play with his vocal tics, his guttural groans, his yelps, and his Tom Waits aspirations. What should be a strength of his is so overused on this release that it become grating by the later tracks. When he sings in his natural voice and the rest of the band keeps the structure simple, “Little Motel” becomes a peaceful and relaxing treat before continuing on as before. Marr even provides some guitar work towards the end that helps this along.