Modest Mouse Live at The Academy, Dublin

The first of Modest Mouse’s two-night stand in the Academy was really a mixed bag. The group have some killer dance rhythms, some terrifically powerful riffs and a number of sweetly melodic ballads, but unfortunately, they veer close to Dad-rock territory too often for my tastes.

They certainly start off well, rustling up a series of killer grooves and really getting the audience going, with Isaac Brock showing remarkable levels of energy and intensity. After the fourth or fifth tune, though, my attention starts to wander as the band crank out a series of stodgy rockers and dreary, folk-inflected numbers (my heart sinks every time the banjo is produced). The show gets back on track with the majestic ‘Float On’, which prompts a mass singalong. It really is a special tune; catchy, anthemic, stirring - you know, the kind of music Coldplay, Snow Patrol and U2 always say they’re going to make, but never actually do.

There are further treats in store (including a couple of more pulsating, Rapture-like workouts and some elegant, baroque rock a la Arcade Fire), but I have to confess that by the end, the group’s weakness for meat-and-two-veg schmindie has worn my patience.