Modest Mouse: We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

Modest Mouse: We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
Epic: 3/20/2007

After Good News For People Who Love Bad News, I was beginning to worry about Modest Mouse. There were some great songs on that album, but they were beginning to slip noticeably. With We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, Modest Mouse seem to have bounced back. It would be easy to attribute their revitalization entirely to the edition of former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, but I'm not convinced that's the whole story. Isaac Brock sounds more focused and fired up than he has in a long time. We Were Dead is probably the most outwardly aggressive Modest Mouse record yet. None of the songs meander unnecessarily; they seem to chug with determination and a brisk pace to some unknown destination. This album ranks among The Moon and Antarctica and The Lonesome Crowded West as one of their best.