I’m a modest mouse fan, not a citric, so bear with me as I try and use my profound powers of deduction, leaping onto this leak of their single with panther like reflexes. I’m no fat cat, on my fat-cat chair, smoking my big fat-fat-cat cigar, like all you music citrics, who are obese. No I just like my voice, and want to explain my emotions of this new sound to other unconvinced retiring rodents. You can’t blame poor Isaac, he’s not had much luck in the world before now, with his bleak past etc, but that all seemed to change with the success of Float On, a success which equalled money, and money is pretty good for getting wasted, stoned etc. (You and me know Mr Brock wont put it into a High Interest Savings account). And having tasted this success it feels like, he may, just like I would if I had been poor in my past, be trying to tap into this rich vein of .richness. Ok, I’m blathering, maybe I want to secretly be a fat cat music citric (plz gief job) and am doing vocabularalstuff to impress. But bear with me, cause I got the beginning and ending of this review whilst in the bath, thinking it was the cleverest thing ever (don’t skip to the end, in hindsight, it didn’t quite work when I thought about it), listening to the live and studio versions of dashboard ontop of each other, smoking the erb. And now, quite offensively sober, I am attempting to bulk up this review (read dull musings). The fact is Isaac, and modest mouse have changed their tone. Yes, they do this every album, I am well aware, but, perhaps I’m getting old (I’m not I use t’internet) but I don’t like this change. It feels more like the MM crew (see .I’m not old crap I meant cru’) has taken a bunch of anti-depressants. On the face of it, it seems cheerful and fun and so forth, yet it is so empty, so devoid of it’s character. It just feels forced. Lets look at the lyrics. I love Brock’s lyrics. They’re clebur. Witness the marvels that are The universe is shaped xactly like the Earth/ If you go straight and long enough you end up where you were’, They got the land but we’ve got the view’ and Doing the cockroach, yeah. Doing the cockroach, yeah.’ Sure, they admittedly get less profound as you look through the meagre list offered by my memory (blames the erbs), leaving aside the jokey theme, there are fantastic lyrics in some of the older Modest Mouse songs. So listening to this new song, I did the same. I tried to leave myself and visualise the lyrics. They went something like this: Mate, your dashboard has melted F**k, what do I do? Well, I wouldn’t worry. You’ll have to guess your average speed, and fuel consumption. It may also be rather unsafe, but you are a bit of a rocker, you love all that danger. So the good news, (FPWLBN ;) ) is that the radio is fine. Thank the lord! That is great, cheers’ Yeah, but it would’a been could’a been jeese, worse than you would ever know! Ahh, wow .I’m pretty lucky then, I love fresh air so it’s no biggie, Cheers mate! Ok, I was reading into those lyrics a bit deeper than perhaps I should have so let’s backtrack. Honestly? The dashboard has melted .has faded away All of the complex and interwoven loveliness of the guitars and so on (yeah, told yo, I’m no music citric!) has faded all the complexities on that board full of dashes have gone, the lyrics simplified, (he’s driving an aeroplane, OK?). But don’t worry, because they have cashed in on a radio-ready sound, that anyone can enjoy, or spend money on! Yeah, it is a new sound. Yeah, some people will love it. As much as I try to dislike it, I can’t, I really can’t. As much as I try to, by shouting at my headphones NO! You’ve changed! I I can’t love you anymore! creating some strange looks from my fellow passengers on the bus, I still end up offering, But we can still be friends .I bet you guys are loving my imagery, but nah, that actually really happened. Luckily I’m a pretty ugly bloke and do lots of daft things.Like writing this review before the album is out, before the clear, better-quality bit-rate version is released on the 22nd of January. And Good News’ had some good tracks, despite them going a tad commercial (I’m not bothered about this happening, I just don’t want stupid people liking Modest Mouse .they’re mine! All mine! My largely undiscovered ball of awesome), so there is still hope, I for one can’t wait for the proper version of Fire it up. But even on the live version, it sounded repetitive, with no real soul. Dramamine, perhaps my favourite track contrasts to this new sound. This scary new sound. It doesn’t lean toward chant-y choruses that pop up all the time, as if pandering for a school-girl fans gathering, all chanting the lyrics together into hairbrushes trying on different sorry! Forgot you were there! But yes! Dramamine, and so many other songs have so many different pockets, where the songs fluidly move, like jelly, but less rigid than jelly, more like sugary cream. There was a chance for Dashboard to do this. You know where .in that lull, the quiet part. But no. Straight back to the same song, the same tune, as if their attempting to broaden their appeal to a wider audience means that their songs mustn’t be too creative, lest the poor muppets get left behind. I still like it, and I’m sure it will be much like marmite, within a few weeks I’m sure I will love, or hate it. But as I’m seeing people stop reading, I will leave you with this last piece of imagery. This song is like Bjork got bored of her current sound, took bare (English cool word for lots’. There is dramatic irony in this statement, because the cupboard is bare’ normally means nothing is there. But glass half full or half empty? Makes no sense? Shut up, that’s what!) testosterone pills, developed Brock’s voice, turned to a funky disco, and made this song. That wasn’t imagery. That was me being an idiot.