Modest Mouse - 'Ocean Breathes Salty' (Epic)
3/5
By: Kevin Molloy
Nonsense lyrics to an anthemic backdrop, yet through the nonsense there's a brilliance. Modest Mouse are back with yet another winsome effort, as if we'd ever doubt them.
Whilst every release hones the style ever more mainstream, this shows them at the peak of their relevance and power. Casual enough to treat death with a refreshing irreverence ('You wasted life, why wouldn't you waste the afterlife?') yet focused musically with sharp, watertight precision. Drifting guitars, floating harmonies, and bass and organ lines truly worthy of pegging them down combine over Brock's curiously pleasant nasal tones, lyrics off-kilter and accented by unidentifiable, er, accents, to make a well-crafted and sparkling single. They might not be breaking any new ground, but they're certainly not losing any.
Artists in this article: Modest Mouse
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