We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
by Modest Mouse
  • Record Label: Sony
  • Release Date: Mar 20, 2007
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. Entertainment Weekly
    91
    This 14-track-strong album is very much good news for people who loved Good News for People Who Love Bad News.
  2. The A.V. Club
    91
    Easier than ever to grasp, yet still constantly, joyously vexing, We Were Dead is another terrific set from a band that couldn't make something dull even if drowning were the only other option.
  3. 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]
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  5. 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]
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  6. Tiny Mix Tapes
    90
    Music dignitaries and primordial fans will be contented. If they’re smart, they’ll rejoice.
  7. Delusions of Adequacy
    90
    It’s a sincere album that is as friendly and rewarding as any of their previous works.
  8. Austin Chronicle
    89
    We Were Dead sounds like Modest Mouse, only better.
  9. Billboard
    80
    There's more melody than usual to be found here. [24 Mar 2007]
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  10. Hartford Courant
    80
    It's a successful experiment... largely because the differences between Marr and Mouse turn out to be more harmonious than anyone could have expected.
  11. Spin
    80
    While Brock's pop instincts have never been more refined, his jitteriness has never run more rampant. [Apr 2007, p.85]
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  12. The Guardian
    80
    The Modest Mouse frontman has the kind of overbearing personality that seems to bring out the best in Marr: their collaboration on the band's fifth album is thrilling.
  13. musicOMH.com
    80
    This is a band working at the very top of their game, and this album is a beautiful, brilliant beast.
  14. Alternative Press
    80
    Much of We Were Dead feels like a culmination of the sound that Modest Mouse have spent the last decade or so honing. [May 2007, p.145]
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  15. Uncut
    80
    [The album] adds a newfound sang-froid to their quiet/loud approach. [May 2007, p.100]
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  16. Mojo
    80
    A winner. [May 2007, p.106]
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  17. Q Magazine
    80
    A fantastic voyage. [May 2007, p.128]
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  18. Pitchfork
    78
    Another solid (if not necessarily great) record.
  19. ShakingThrough.net
    78
    Clearly, what we’re dealing with here isn’t a new Modest Mouse, but one with a few new, calculated tricks.
  20. Los Angeles Times
    75
    At 62 minutes, this album feels self-indulgent, and some of the 14 songs leave little impression.
  21. Almost Cool
    73
    In the end, it's not as excellent as their early work, but still pretty entertaining.
  22. 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.
  23. Amazon.com
    70
    We Were Dead... is denser than its predecessor with tunes that seem willfully harder to penetrate.
  24. The New York Times
    70
    The results are enthralling, even when they seem to be thrashing at coherence. [19 Mar 2007]
  25. NOW Magazine
    70
    The album as a whole does drag on, and the songs aren't as immediately grabby as those on their last disc, but We Were Dead is more interesting and varied than Good News.
  26. Boston Globe
    70
    If "We Were Dead . . ." is a little much to take in all at once, the sheer mass of the tunes becomes easier to manage over repeated listens.
  27. Drowned In Sound
    70
    In fairness, We Were Dead... excites almost as much as it frustrates; the problem lying not so much in its commercial aspirations per se as an occasional inability to integrate them into a satisfying whole. That, and there’s too much shouting. And it’s way too long.
  28. New Musical Express (NME)
    70
    Both Marr and MM mainman Isaac Brock have a weakness for bombast that can make them sound like Snow Patrol playing Gogol Bordello, but the album heaves with vim and variety.
  29. Slant Magazine
    70
    We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank is a really good, if not necessarily phenomenal, rock record.
  30. Dot Music
    70
    The problem is, there's simply too much record here.
  31. Playlouder
    70
    This could be Modest Mouse's finest hour were it not a little long - the nuances are occasionally rather swamped by the effort of listening to the hour-long record through.
  32. Lost At Sea
    68
    A disproportionate amount of the album's tracks sound like a commercialized knockoff of previous songs, past highlights revisited after a process of radio ready distillation.
  33. Prefix Magazine
    65
    It's exhausting.
  34. Hot Press
    65
    There are some excellent moments.

Awards & Rankings

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

User Reviews

All reviews »
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
  1. Vampire25
    Jan 6, 2011
    7
    We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank has some really good tracks on it. Modest Mouse has made another solid album. The sound of it is aWe Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank has some really good tracks on it. Modest Mouse has made another solid album. The sound of it is a little different from their previous work "Good News For People Who Love Bad News". It sounds pretty good for the most part. My favorite song on the album is "Spitting Venom". Amazing song. And "Dashboard", "Little Motel", and "Fire It Up" are all great tracks. All In All, a solid album with a handful of great tracks. B… Full Review »
  2. Djimi
    Jun 14, 2007
    10
    More pure quality from Modest Mouse. I think some critics are just being pathetic and trying to go against the grain by giving it mediocre More pure quality from Modest Mouse. I think some critics are just being pathetic and trying to go against the grain by giving it mediocre reviews just because they've become popular and had good sales, 'cos it really is a great band on top form.… Full Review »
  3. DylanS
    May 30, 2007
    9
    Another quality release from Modest Mouse. A nice mix of the Good News and Moon and Antartica sound to create the second best release of Another quality release from Modest Mouse. A nice mix of the Good News and Moon and Antartica sound to create the second best release of their career and one of this years best. Don't be afraid of the accesibility of their sound, it's still Modest Mouse, just with exceptional song structure + Johnny Marr was a great addition.… Full Review »
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