RECOMMENDED
With new guitarist Johnny Marr firmly in tow, the band that built the blueprint for modern indie rock is on the road again. Following up their commercial breakthrough, 2004’s“Good News For People Who Love Bad News,” the band released “We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank” earlier this year. Effortlessly navigating that steep canyon between oddball underground darlings and reluctant Billboard inductees, “We Were Dead…” might just be the band’s strongest album to date. Ringleader Isaac Brock lets loose the quirk, but with the measured ear of a songwriter at the top of his game. Post-punk freakouts mingle with disco-ready pop tipples, but “We Were Dead…” pulls off the fray with only a mildly schizophrenic sensation. Although smeared with an expected coat of radio-friendly gloss, the new release preserves that signature weirdness that longtime Modest Mouse fans adore. (K. Tighe)
Sunday, December 2 at Congress Theatre
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