CD review:We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank/MODEST MOUSE

[KiwiCoromandel]

Last week Rock Star Supernova showed us what happens when an arranged marriage goes wrong.

This week along comes Modest Mouse to show that sometimes these things can work with an equally unlikely pairing of young – contemporary Portland, Oregon, hard-living extrovert Isaac Brock – with old – the clean-living former 80s indie icon, Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr.

The story goes that after the success of 2004's Good News For People Who Love Bad News and the departure of guitarist Dann Gallucci, Brock made a list of guitarists he wanted to work with and Marr was at the top.

So he wrote him a letter – and the rest is history.

The result is a curious mix of the band's jerky rhythm with a rich undercurrent of Marr's trademark jangly guitar.

Marr loves to build a tune and this can be clearly heard on the climatic moments of Fire it Up and Florida, which both contrast the more choppy – think early Talking Heads – songs like March into the Sea and Dashboard.

Who knows how long this marriage will last but the chemistry is proving interesting.

source:LINDSAY DAVIS/The Dominion Post

image:reuters:MODEST MOUSE's "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank" is out now through SonyBMG...