I think it is somewhat more difficult to write up a review for a record after two well executed reviews by fans of this band. Also, this is my first exposure to Modest Mouse, so I don't expect to totally deconstruct the band or its meanings, all I have to work with is the record. Ok, maybe then from this approach this review should be a piece of cake. I don't know anything about this band, the band members or their past music. All I have to go with is the tidbits I've picked up from various music zines and the ranting of The Jake and Remy on goofballs. So I will be succinct: There is something captivating and interesting in the music, but the cracker-country twang of Brock's voice drives me up a wall, and he is most annoying on tracks that shouldn't be on the record in the first place. Oh, and my favorite part of the record is the segue way from the intro into "Float On". Seriously, it's the best part of the record. I love great segue ways into good track 2s. The intro is a "good" intro; sets the tone but isn't totally a song, but it gets you interested. Sliding with a synth, right to a 4/4 beat with a colorful guitar lick, then BAM! into the hit single, and I will also agree with the producers from Monday Night Football that its the best track on the album.
But man the redneck timbre of Brock. Is this the shtick? Ok I get it. You're weird. Modest Mouse is a weird alternative band. But I don't care. It's annoying. Like when Phish would do stupid shit onstage saying "poopity" "poppity" "boop" and "bip" for 25 minutes and all the trust fund hippies dancing around in awe, like they actually like the shit. PLAY FEE YOU FUCKERS!!! I don't want my first review in the forum to be a rant, and that last part was more talking shit about Phish than Modest Mouse. So....
Brock's voice doesn't ruin everything for me. The music makes up for it....mostly. I always focus the sound before the lyrics, and Modest Mouse use that modern effect in studios called "stereo mixing" quite well. I have a great pair of headphones (Grado SR60s on sale for $70 - I highly recommend) so the music is very beautiful as for the first half of the record bounces back and forth in my head with colorful tones, minimal effects, and pretty guitars. They are good musicians, and this is good rock and roll, even the Doors reprise on "Satin In A Coffin" isn't trite, and adds some evidence that this record was recorded in 2004 by musicians that want to sound like 2004. I like and appreciate that.
But pop music usually comes with vocals, which shouldn’t always be the case. So Brock's voice and country scatting take away from those interestingly mic'ed drums. And what is he singing about that is so important he has to make his voice sound like that? To me lyrics are overrated and for every time I hear about how much of a poet Kurt Cobain was, I like him more for the fact that he could write a great pop song. Fundamentals. Like Jordan made incredible shots, but his defensive game was unstoppable. Harold Baines always got that clutch hit when it mattered. Defense in bball and hitting in baseball. Two simple aspects of a game to understand, but absolutely crucial. Same thing in tunes. There are some quality tracks here, but I'm afraid that if MM focused more on keeping the vox to the side it could've been better. Their music doesn't revolutionize sound, but the song structures keep my attention, at least until "Dance Hall". That's when the cracker shit changes the great pace set, and I stop listening and realize that I've spent 12 minutes downloading album covers to associate with my albums on iTunes. Right I'm bored.
But then WTF? "The View" comes and I start nodding my head. So Modest Mouse can play the accordion AND make punk funksters dance? This track sounds better than anything Radio 4 has done in the past two years. Even Brock isn't annoying me here, he actually sings and the chorus is catchy. When is their 12" 9 minute DFA remix coming out?
Unfortunately the power ebbs afterwards though. So I agree with Sam; this album is too long. It should be 10 tracks. 10 track records kick ass, no downtime, no stupid 13 second interludes. Come on both Unknown Pleasures and Illmatic are 10 tracks. The Pleasure Principle, "Heroes" and Orbital's Brown Album as well. These records start (Illmatic, Pleasure Principle, & Brown Album have perfect intros BTW) and they really give you no reason to stop until you've heard the whole statement. Editing. It's a good tool. Some of these sub-par country with the grating singing tracks should've been B-sides, like for that 12" DFA remix.
You can argue that I'm being unfair, stating that Brock's voice is what really keeps this record from being great. Maybe that's what MM fans like the most. Maybe I don't get it. But his voice and silly vocal structure, coupled with the boring country tracks keep Good News from being an excellent record to only being a decent record. So I guess that would be good news for people who like it bad.
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Isaac Brock’s vocals are definitely the major obstacle when listening to MM. I had first heard of them through WNRN in Charlottesville when Sam was working there, and I had liked what I had heard, namely a few songs from Lonesome that were very rhythmic with some interesting changes in tempo. I borrowed the album from Sam, and immediately though that my ear drums were going to explode when the first song began screeching with Brock at some of his loudest. His vocals settled down after that, which does make for a very enjoyable album. The reason Sam and I laughed our goofy little selves up that night during the same period was indeed because of the preposterous yelling on a track later in the album (and probably my least favorite on the album, for that matter). But I believe that Derek touches on the major downside of Brock as a musician.
Of course, the other side of his unpolished voice is that it is wonderful in expressing the emotional character of his lyrics. There is no doubting whether he means what he says, and that what he is saying is coming from (usually painful) experience. His words sound tortured by his thoughts and past, and his voice backs it. You get the good with the bad with Brock, depending on the song and even certain moments within those songs.
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