pretty weak start, ngl. The first five albums, plus the early eps, are just not super fun to listen to. There are occasionally parts that sound like they could be interesting and cool, and there are occasionally parts that do sound good, but they’re kinda few and far between. Mostly, it feels harsh and cobbled together. I can almost get behind it in a sort of diy, garage band type of thing, but it just doesn’t sound good enough for that, it’s too chunky, too harsh. I know some of those early albums are kind of what they’re famous for, are considered some of their classics, but they’re not my jam.
However, there’s a pretty significant turning point at Good News For People Who Love Bad News. That album isn’t my favorite, but it’s decent. It’s good listening, and it still holds onto a lot of the quirkiness and personality that makes the earlier stuff attractive. It’s got Float On, which is a 10/10 song, and it’s got some other songs I like well enough, and I could see myself liking it more in the future. And from there, it pretty much just keeps getting better. We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank is their album with Johnny Marr, and that one is a good solid album. I do not like Morrissey, but I can get behind Johnny Marr for sure. And then, yeah, all those later albums are great, super solid.
It makes it a little tricky to rank. I’d been ready to give a low D for the first week I was listening, without having to think too hard about it. But the second half I’d give an easy A-, with an eye out for them to go even higher later. I think what I’m gonna do is give them a low A-. I want to recognize more where they’ve gone, where they are now, than where they started. Partly because I tend to want to err on the side of liking something than not liking something, and partly because I feel like… life goes on, y’know? It’s disrespectful to the people who have become who they are to pigeonhole them into the people they used to be. And I rather like Modest Mouse as they are now, there’s a lot about them that is attractive and endearing to me.
Modest Mouse complete, now listening to: Atarashii Gakko!
tunafruitsandwitch 