Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News
My Thoughts: (Reviewed by K-Billy)
Modest Mouse is a band that has managed to slip below my radar. I made the mistake of thinking that their new album “Good News For People Who Love Bad News” was a debut, when in actuality the bands been around for a few years. If you found out about them like me, by seeing the video for their single “Float On” you’d think they were a tad simliar to the equally awesome Franz Ferdinand. However this is based entirely on the look of the video and somewhat on the vibe you get from the song. Make no mistake though, this cd is entirely unique and isn’t like anything I’ve heard before. I’m not sure it’s possibly to classify Mouse other then to say they’re alternative music.
From the beginning of the cd you’re bombarded with the full on blasts of all types of horn instruments, almost leading you to believe you’re about to be thrown into a jazz or swing record, however after this brief intro the album kicks in to it’s first song. “The World At Large” is a beautifully subdued song, the entire time listening through it I half expected it to break into a large loud rock number. However remaining quiet and simple the song showcases Mouse’s sound in some respects, a stripped down, simpler rock record. Not really rock in the sense that downtuned guitars blast your ear drums as much as their’s a definite attitude to each of the tracks and the cd as a whole. Possibly the bands biggest hit so far is “Float On” a sharp contrast from “The World At Large” with a catchy guitar reminiscent of Coldplay’s “In My Place.” It’s in “Float On” more so then the opening track that we are truly introduced to the vocalist of Modest Mouse, Issac Brock. Sounding a bit deranged at times but always entertaining, his delivery is entirely sporadic on such tracks as “Dance Hall” and “The Devil’s Workshop” which is a big brassy number that reminds one of the horn introduction to the album. The band isn’t without it’s softer moments though, “Blame It On The Tetons” and “Bukowski” are wonderfully elegant in their quiet reflective nature, yet not as simple as “The World At Large.” Even though there really aren’t too many literally rocking tracks on this cd, I’d still call Mouse a rock band with some hugely entertaining harder tracks such as “Black Cadillacs” a song with the wonderfully catchy chorus…now where done, done, done, with all the fuck, fuck, fucking around. Altogether this is an excellently unique album. Modest Mouse play strangely structured simpler music yet at the same time can evoke the same response a regular rock band would create. However Modest Mouse is much more alternative in their stylings. What's probably the most impressive is how diverse the music is. You go from listening to the brassy "Devils Workshop" to the subtle "Blame It On The Tetons" it is such an enjoyable experience to be able to get so much variety and depth out of a band these days. All around an extremely impressive album and I mean extremely.
Key Tracks:
Float On
Ocean Breathes Salty
Bukowski
Black Cadillacs
Satin In A Coffin