Spring Break
Modest Mouse soars on first major-label outing
Eric Feigner
The Daily Barometer
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It's possible that existence may just be a finite series of minimal build-ups and monumental let-downs. Life can get pretty depressing at times, but there's no rule that says the soundtrack has to be equally dismal.
Modest Mouse, a band equally famous for reinventing the rock wheel as it is for its brutally honest approach to song writing, has returned with Good News for People Who Love Bad News. And this time, they've got anti-depressants. Good News is the band's fourth full-length album and, while it's not a complete renovation of style, it is a refreshing step forward and probably the group's ticket to mainstream stardom.
Opening the album, "The World at Large" is a cookie-cutter Modest Mouse song. Isaac Brock's paper-thin vocals and Benjamin Weikel's echo-drenched guitar seamlessly intertwine, helping to create the familiar downtrodden pseudo-ballad the band is famous for. The song is strangely numbing and more subdued than any of their previous works.
But those anesthetic qualities quickly fade. Out of nowhere, "Float On" appears. The album's first single (and arguably its most accessible song to date) is surprisingly upbeat. Awe-inspiring simplicity and a newfound confidence lace the track with a good vibe and an amazingly thick atmosphere. The production teeters on the verge of sloppiness, but it works -- it adds a frantic, overwhelming sense of joy to the mix. The song peaks with a rugged choir joining in to sing the chorus -- pure goosebump material.
Like "Float On," the album seems to be covered in mild production blemishes. Some argue that the band's massively acclaimed
The Moon and Antarctica was horribly overproduced and polished when compared to the relative grit of its previous releases. Things have changed this time around; the über-clean pro-tools sound has been mucked up a bit, resulting in something that sounds a little more "honest."
Dropping the small-label business, Modest Mouse recently signed to Epic Records, opted to start from scratch when it came to the recording process. Good News was recorded under producer Dennis Herring (Counting Crows, Throwing Muses, Jars of Clay, Cracker) in Mississippi. Not sticking to any sort of discernable formula, the album swings between characteristic Modest Mouse styling and uncharted territory.
The musical progressions of Good News seem to be either overwhelmingly complex or painfully minimalist. The track "Bukowski" is a prime example of the later. Relying mainly on Brock's vocals, the song is a meandering journey of dull guitar work and silly banjo fills. Thankfully, moments like this are few and far between.
The curse of Modest Mouse is the fact that the majority of the group's releases start out incredibly solid but quickly lose momentum. Good News doesn't completely break the longstanding track record, but it takes a step forward. The doldrums on this album aren't nearly as arduous as on previous ventures.
"Blame it On the Tetons" is probably the album's most honest and memorable track. A beautiful, forlorn guitar perfectly meshes with a rolling bass line and a lonesome piano. What starts out as a despondent cry for change gradually shifts to a wonderfully sublime commentary on sadness.
The album wraps up with a wonderfully candid song, "The Good Times Are Killing Me," a perfectly suitable ending to a strange trip, but something just doesn't fit. The overall cohesiveness found on past albums seems to be a bit lacking on Good News. The album is focused and easy to absorb, but the tracks seem haphazardly arranged and even disjointed at times.
Overall, Good News for People Who Love Bad News is a bizarre homogenization of sadness and joy. The depth, subtle sadness and sheer honesty of Modest Mouse's previous releases are still present, but this time around, the songs are strangely upbeat. At times, it's about as close to pop as an "indie" band can get, but that doesn't negate the truly great moments on the album one bit. Modest Mouse, in all its glory, somehow manages to put a smiling face on an otherwise gloomy existence.
Eric Feigner is a Diversions writer for The Daily Barometer. He can be reached at baro.diversions@studentmedia.orst.edu.
Note: writers will not reply to comments.
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anonymous854
anonymous854
posted 12/20/04 @ 12:46 AM PST
Benjamin Weikel is the drummer, not a guitarist. Isaac Brock and Dann Gallucci play the guitars on this album.
marshall
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