I've got my dirty little hands on the (as of press time) unreleased Modest Mouse album, No One's First, And You're Next (to be abbreviated as "NOFAYN" from here on out)! This album is set to come out on August 4th, 2009, so you can imagine how stoked I was to get my hands on some new tunes by the whole Modest Mouse gang, including frontman Isaac Brock, and Guitarist Johnny Marr. (Two of my biggest icons, by the way.)
Following the (in my opinion) disaster that was Modest Mouse's last album, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, I had huge hopes for NOFAYN. I was really, really, REALLY looking for a good album to sink my teeth into; I expected a return to the great sounds of The Fruit That Ate Itself and Building Nothing Out of Something. What I got, was an EP (albeit a long one-- 8 tracks totalling just under thirty three and a half minutes) which was a sort of hodgepodge of the two sides of Modest Mouse.
Say what you will about Isaac Brock, but he's no fool. We've seen him glimpse true success with songs like "Float On" and "Dashboard", which were two very pop oriented tracks. The return of the "old" style on this album (Plunky bass, darker mood, almost angry vocals, et cetra. A great track to hear what I'm refering to is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAJ4rtCSFMg&feature=related) is noted, but it's not entirely enough. There are still elements of the failed twangy-pop sound which, along with an overpowering horn section, featured prominantly on We Were Dead. This is most obvious on the track, "Perpetual Motion Machine", my least favorite on the album.
Alright, I've gotten most of my complaints out of the way, and this album really does feature some great tracks that feel like they were written and preformed at the level that we all know Modest Mouse is capable of being at, given their niche. Songs like "King Rat", "Guilty Cocker Spaniel", and "Whale Song" are both reminiscent of earlier works by the band, and infused with fresh style, making them new and exciting to long time fans. King Rat, in fact, has a big-name music video coming out sometime in the future, directed by the late Heath Ledger, and animated by the legendary Terry Gilliam. I honestly cannot wait.
So, do I recomend this album? That depends. I feel silly, making the distinction, but it's pretty necessary. For estbalished fans of Modest Mouse who are familiar with the band's unique style, absolutely! It's a great addition to any collection. To someone, (not unlike my blogbuddy, Some Guy) who either is less than enthused about hearing another shitty replay of "Dashboard" on the radio, or doesn't know the first thing about Modest Mouse? I would say hold off. Not that it's a bad album as a standalone, or anything, it's primarily that its success is in the fact that it really combines several different facets of the "Modest Mouse Experience". It's a listening challenge, especially if you want to hear everything that's going on at any one time in a given track. To a lot of people, it'll simply sound "cluttered".
So, final verdict time. I give Modest Mouse's new EP, No One's First, And You're Next a...
8/10
One final note: There will not be a download link until the official album release date of August 4th, 2009. If you are intensely curious about the album, and just HAVE to have it, please contact me, and I will arrange it somehow.
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