Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank

Some would have you believe that the writing was already on the wall for We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank the moment Johnny Marr got onboard the vessel. Fair judgement or not, it's unclear what, exactly, The Smiths' alum adds to proceedings. Seeing Modest Mouse reach both their most poppy heights and most bitter depths, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank is deliciously contrary at times and ridiculously monotonous at others. Carrying all the traditional sounds from their 14 year wide repertoire, it feels, somehow, as if it's all been toned down just a little too much. Never as frenetic or irritated as on previous records, never quite as urgent or angry, it's perked up partially by Parting Of The Sensory and Little Motel, but it's never quite enough to fully satisfy. A slight disappointment, it is obvious that Modest Mouse can do so much better. Whether or not it was Marr who sank the ship is an entirely different question. [Neil Ferguson]