We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
by Modest Mouse
  • Record Label: Sony
  • Release Date: Mar 20, 2007
User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 256 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 226 out of 256
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 256
  3. Negative: 12 out of 256

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  1. JCCaird
    Mar 8, 2007
    10
    Fantastic album. Stand out tracks are "Parting of the Sensory" and "Spitting Venom".
  2. JamesboF.
    Jun 27, 2007
    10
    This album is so damn catchy. It reminds me of 80s new wave-it has that vibe-and almost every song is great. It's just so catchy and perfectly set up. I love this album!
  3. LainieR
    Feb 16, 2007
    10
    Yesssss
  4. AndrewC
    Feb 16, 2007
    10
    Finally it leaked
  5. Albert
    Feb 27, 2007
    10
    I love the part that makes me smile!
  6. Patty
    Feb 27, 2007
    10
    If you like this album you are a good person
  7. NikolasJ
    Mar 11, 2007
    10
    I've read some reviews that claim the new Modest Mouse album sounds rushed, as if Brock was just trying to satisfy a contract, but I highly disagree. To me, it's an angry album, no doubt, but a great album nonetheless. "We were dead" is about not growing and/or learning from mistakes. It's about not feeling trapped by history, and that speaks to Mouse's listeners on I've read some reviews that claim the new Modest Mouse album sounds rushed, as if Brock was just trying to satisfy a contract, but I highly disagree. To me, it's an angry album, no doubt, but a great album nonetheless. "We were dead" is about not growing and/or learning from mistakes. It's about not feeling trapped by history, and that speaks to Mouse's listeners on many levels. The album is speaking to the people who are constantly upset they don't sound like "Lonesome Crowded West" anymore as well as any listeners who feels upset with their own life but does nothing to change it. It's a brilliantly angry album, and rightfully so. Everyone, including your favorite band, has to change if they mean to make any progress. People who want the same thing repeated, in music or life, are not going to grow, and that's who they are speaking to. The album is sharp, and Brock & company are as acute as always. They are growing and have accepted the fact that some of their earliest fans may not grow with them, but they're at peace with that. After all, we all know the tragedy of history repeating itself.… Expand
  8. ZayneF
    Mar 17, 2007
    10
    This album is flawless. It revisits almost all of the periods theyve gone through, and adds more texture to the sound. Each song has its purpose, and each song serves that purpose.
  9. OliverC
    Mar 18, 2007
    10
    This album is outstanding. A great follow up to good news. I would say a good deal better than arcade fire's neon bible (if for some reason you want to compare the two.)
  10. NigelB
    Mar 20, 2007
    10
    Fantastic, Modest Mouse delivered everything I had been anticipating for and possibly more. Enough new twists to keep me interested, but not too many to distance me from their sound.
  11. MattA
    Mar 20, 2007
    10
    Listened to it on my way home from work... and loved it on my first listen. ...its not too often i like a whole CD on its first run through. haha... and it struck even more of a chord knowing Johnny Marr, and James Mercer helped make this possible. Kudos.
  12. BenA
    Mar 20, 2007
    10
    Actually, this one is much more like "lonesome crowded west" than anything else they have done. The return of their original drummer I think helped them get back to their daring and explorational roots. Spitting Venom is pure old-school modest mouse. All these morons crying about how modest mouse sold out need to shut up. This album is not any more accessible than their early work. Modest Actually, this one is much more like "lonesome crowded west" than anything else they have done. The return of their original drummer I think helped them get back to their daring and explorational roots. Spitting Venom is pure old-school modest mouse. All these morons crying about how modest mouse sold out need to shut up. This album is not any more accessible than their early work. Modest Mouse always wrote catchy songs. What about "Heart Cooks Brain"? That one's insanely catchy, and then they masterfully put together "dashboard" which is denser and more detailed, but get shot at for getting too mainstream?? please. Modest Mouse are following their own artistic curve, experimenting with new instrumentation and production techniques, but all you naysayers forget that modest mouse always wrote a mean catch pop tune, and thats why we all liked them in the first place. This is yet another great album from a great band. A+… Expand
  13. LukeH
    Mar 24, 2007
    10
    How many other bands have been around for over a decade and have never released a bad album? Fucking Great.
  14. NellieB
    Mar 9, 2007
    10
    An amazing band makes another amazing album.
  15. GuyH
    Apr 2, 2007
    10
    Fantastic album. I really didn't get on with Good News but this is like a perfectly refined version of what they were attempting with that album. It flows, it has at least 12 great songs - come on chaps, why the middling reviews? This is stunning stuff.
  16. CraigO
    Jun 1, 2007
    10
    This band is now my guilty pleasure. It's catchy music that's more or less just meant to be catchy. It's all I expect, it's what I get, so I love it.
  17. AlexP.
    Jul 6, 2007
    10
    Amazing. It's almost as good as anything they've done. Brock is an irreverent screaming genius. He's never boring and never pretentious. This album is excellent all the way through. My special faves are March into the Sea, Florida, Parting of the Sensory, Fly Trapped in a Jar and Spitting Venom. Marr is a nice addition. He and Brock obviously hit it off well musically. I Amazing. It's almost as good as anything they've done. Brock is an irreverent screaming genius. He's never boring and never pretentious. This album is excellent all the way through. My special faves are March into the Sea, Florida, Parting of the Sensory, Fly Trapped in a Jar and Spitting Venom. Marr is a nice addition. He and Brock obviously hit it off well musically. I saw them live on May 6th and was absolutely blown away.… Expand
  18. JohnG
    Jul 8, 2007
    10
    its great when all of your friends argue over what the best song is.
  19. JCF.
    Jan 1, 2008
    10
    This album is perfect, so many shades ... I like it a lot
  20. CarolN
    Feb 19, 2007
    10
    Brilliant!!!
  21. issacb
    Feb 20, 2007
    10
    does not dissapoint
  22. MartyMcfly
    Feb 24, 2007
    10
    Easily, some of the best work they've done ever, and has shown how much the band has matured since they began. Buy this album and listen to it over and over again.
  23. Chelsey
    Feb 27, 2007
    10
    This album feels like your riding in a huge pirate ship. Yarrrrr!
  24. Chuck
    Feb 27, 2007
    10
    I would like to thank modest mouse for another perfect album. Everything you would want from an album
  25. cody
    Feb 27, 2007
    10
    This is a great album to sail to.
  26. Shorty
    Feb 27, 2007
    10
    I love modest mouse so much
  27. Tim
    Feb 27, 2007
    10
    I get off the plane and my name is in flashy lights everywhere
  28. nyome
    Feb 27, 2007
    10
    Best one yet!
  29. Luke
    Feb 28, 2007
    10
    This album is quite possibly in my top ten favourites list now, what an amazing album.
  30. AndyM
    Mar 15, 2007
    10
    Long Awaited with baited breath and WOW what a punch this MM album packs - dark, angry and brock doing waht he does best 'Spitting Venom', reckong this surpasses GNFPWLBN!
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Awards & Rankings

13
#13 Most Discussed Album of 2007
56
#56 Most Shared Album of 2007

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 38 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 38
  3. Negative: 0 out of 38
  1. Blender
    90
    Is there another "Float On"? It scarcely matters: 10 years into their career, Modest Mouse have stumbled into their best album yet. [Mar 2007, p.137]
  2. Under The Radar
    90
    Not just an album that revisits the dancey guitar-pop that made "Float On" an unlikely #1 hit, but sharpens and emboldens it for their most accessible album to date. [#16, p.93]
  3. Rolling Stone
    70
    Like everything the band has released since signing with Epic in the teeth of a millennial panic, it's louder and somewhat less twisty than the group's indie output.
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