Modest Mouse Overcome Glitches at Helix

In the hot and sweaty pit of a sold-out Helix, the crowd roars and claps in eager anticipation. Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock strolls casually onstage puffing an E-Cigarette, followed closely by his troupe of eight eclectic multi-instrumentalists.

They immediately launch into ‘Of Course We Know’, the closing song from their new album, Strangers to Ourselves. The lyrics of this opening, somewhat solemn, sermon are heavily flavoured with existential cynicism, a theme which runs through the album – and indeed through much of the band’s work. They step up a gear and begin to furiously work their way through the better-known songs from their back catalogue, including ‘Ocean Breathes Salty’, ‘Float On’ and the lead single from Strangers to Ourselves ‘Lampshades on Fire’.

‘Dramamine’ allows the crowd to catch their breath and lose themselves to its eloquent, deliberately meandering guitar lines. Brock converses with his audience in laid-back, jovial tone, accented with a lisp that adds to the endearing oddness of his character. Not that everything was entirely spick and span: the sound on the vocal mike wasn’t great, with the result that Brock’s speech and vocals were muffled throughout the night. Added to bouts of microphone feedback-shriek, this put a slight dampener on proceedings.

But what Modest Mouse lacked in sound clarity was made up for by the band’s frenetic performance, with songs like ‘This Devils Workday’ and ‘Tiny Cities Made of Ashes’, revealing what Modest Mouse do best: conjuring alternating tempos, that are driven by pulsating drum and bass lines, and topped with a generous layering of guitars, horns and strings – the perfect foil for Brock’s ominous, guttural vocals. There are precious moments which feel timeless and unforgettable – and then, just as suddenly, it’s over.

Brock and his band saunter away, and the crowd finally departs into the cold air, to live as strangers once again.

*A full photo gallery of the night will appear on hotpress.com shortly.