I have a confession. I loved “Good News For People Who Love Bad News” and when the damn good news came on the wire here in good old Blighty that one of our greatest Guitar sons (Johnny Marr) had joined Isaac Brock’s collective, my faith in the USA /UK ‘special relationship’ grew to unparalleled levels. As is my routine for every review I write, I listen to each new album in full 6 times in a week and then give as honest assessment (regardless of hype/trends) as is possible. The confession is, for the first three plays I didn’t “get” “We Were Dead…” at all. I thought it was all polish and no tunes, it was too long, and where the hell was Marr’s input? By play 4 and 5, great music was suddenly alerted to my inner receptors, subverting my mood with genuinely crafted instrumental melodies that lie under the most creative patchwork of styles. By play 6 I was hooked, and finally realized that this is one of THE albums of 2007. For all of Brock’s pessimistic lyrical trawling he still creates killer chorus’s, best highlighted by the stunning “Dashboard” which has all the hallmarks of great catchy mainstream Pop, with an indelible hook and slick Brass additions, and yet it still remains intrinsically a Modest Mouse song in its alternative outlook. Many artists have fallen badly in an effort to court a larger audience, some never recover, but Brock’s unrepentant musical expansion defiantly fulfills everyone’s expectation, and as crossover recordings go, there’s not much that’s better than this.

At 62 minutes “We Were Dead…” is exhaustive, possibly un-edited in terms of quality control on a couple of occasions, but overall still contains some astonishing moments. The negatives come via the lumpen Disco/Franz Ferdinand Art Rock workouts (“Fly Trapped In A Jar”, “Education”), where Brock’s manic yelps are so over egged that he ends up sounding like the bad guy from the Police Academy movies, “Zed”. His voice is always better when he’s more restrained, or has the support of fellow musicians. The sing-along backing vocals to “We’ve Got Everything” further enforces this, making for a more measured co-existence of melodic chorus and discordant verse. The Shins’ James Mercer’s backing vocals on “Florida” perfectly fits with Brock’s errant howl. Marr’s contribution is at times necessarily anonymous, which makes perfect sense because, after all, he’s gate crashed the band, but when he does get the chance to air his wondrous powers the embellishments genuinely enhance the songs. Listen to the delicate descending solo as “Fire It Up” gently fades out, or the understated mastery in the clipped instrumental on “Little Motel” which drifts deliberately from harmonious tune, to fractured screech in a blink. “Missed The Boat” is as good an example of pastoral English Indie Pop you’re likely to hear this year (unless XTC ’s Andy Partridge releases something), and the eight minute “Spitting Venom” which bristles with arrogant sequence changes brilliantly, from choppy acoustic lines to a thudding post punk groove, evolving into a military styled outro of seismic intensity. The last two songs portray how far the band have come, and what the album has endeavored to achieve. “People As Places As People” is as close to contemporary Pop (and yet still as vital) Brock has ever written, and “Invisible” is edgy, jagged and stylistically matches much of their back catalogue.

After listening to this album every day for a week, you’ll realize Brock’s virtuosity lies in his illuminating effort to develop Modest Mouse’s sound beyond the constraints of his genre, allied with some of the best songs of 2007. Almost an incredible recording.

8/10

1 March Into the Sea 3:30
2 Dashboard 4:12
3 Fire It Up 4:36
4 Florida 2:59
5 Parting of the Sensory 5:36
6 Missed the Boat 4:26
7 We’ve Got Everything 3:42
8 Fly Trapped in a Jar 4:31
9 Education 3:58
10 Little Motel 4:46
11 Steam Engenius 4:28
12 Spitting Venom 8:29
13 People as Places as People 3:44
14 Invisible 4:01

Dashboard

Missed The Boat