6. We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank (2007)

Expectations were high for We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, Modest Mouse’s follow-up to the platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated Good News For People Who Love Bad News. Not only was the band faced with the historically unenviable task of following up a successful mainstream record, but the indie elite, their appetites whet by the announcement that legendary Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr had joined the band, were watching, too. The addition of Marr would not be the only personnel change for Modest Mouse in 2007 — founding drummer Jeremiah Green returned to the band for the album following a brief absence. As far as albums recorded under pressure go, the nautically themed We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank is nowhere near the disappointment it could have been. On the contrary: Though claustrophobic and overproduced, the album is the sound of Brock exploiting every resource, his reach and his grasp in harmony at last. If the album is generally considered something of a letdown, nobody told Billboard and CMJ — the album peaked at No. 1 on both radio charts. First single “Dashboard,” with its disco tempo, scenery-chewing strings, and ear-candy brass, is more Jeff Lynne than Jeff Mangum, while the party-inciting “Fire It Up” sounds like it was written with the express purpose of helping Mellow Mushroom employees get through their overtime shifts. Best of all is the uncharacteristically sweet “Little Motel,” whose sinewy nest of guitar echoes recalls the chilly restraint of Sigur Ros. Still, there is a sense of bloat about We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank that has nothing to do with the album’s running time (at just over an hour, it’s actually one of the shorter Modest Mouse LPs). A nagging, fussed-over feel persists, and the sound of guitars compressed for radio play sharply increases in shrillness as the album approaches its mostly dull second half. Then again, along with Sparklehorse’s similarly neglected Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of The Mountain, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank remains one of the best major label albums of the new millennium that can still be had for three bucks.