What I don't understand is why so many people dislike, or even loath We Were Dead.
I personally am an enormous fan of Modest Mouse's early sound. But I enjoy the new sound that modest mouse has been exploring as well. While all of the music on We Were Dead was undoubtedly more commercial, the adding of more instruments has allowed their music to remain layered and complex. I also don't think that the fact that the music is easier to listen to takes away from Isaac Brocks lyric writing. People as Places as People was, in my opinion, genius. And Parting of The Sensory was practically a throwback to the days of Lonesome Crowded west lyrically.
No Ones First and Your Next is essentially the aftermath of both We Were Dead and Bad News. So in my thought process, the two are in a way just the two sides of one album. They both include Marine themes, all though We Were Dead builds much more upon them than Bad News did. And in the way that Bad News was is in a way arguing about the nature of the soul and argues that god and afterlife aren't a necessity, We Were Dead is an album about the transience of life and the rat race that is humanity. In my opinion the two complement each other.
Can anyone explain to me why they didn't like We Were Dead?
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