B-Sides
Modest Mouse
No One’s First and You’re Next
(Sony/Epic)
***1/2
Some bands have a knack for putting out challenging and provocative material every time out of the gate — on No One’s First and You’re Next, an odds-and-sods collection of songs recorded between 2004’s Good News for People Who Love Bad News and 2007’s We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, Modest Mouse brings it way, way more than most other so-called “indie” bands. B-sides have never sounded so good: “Guilty Cocker Spaniels” feels like someone dared the band to fill a song with as many catchy hooks and interesting breakdowns as possible. Yet it’s Isaac Brock, continuing the intrigue with his bipolar, often creepy singing style, who makes the track stand out. “Before I could spit it out / I guess the words had burnt my mouth / What could I say? / Worst of all I laid it out / So you could take it out of context anyway,” Brock moans with unparalleled bitterness — words that most people can relate to, but couldn’t say with quite the same flair.
CURTIS WRIGHT
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