Modest Mouse
Everywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks (EP)
Epic Records

Modest Mouse made big news last year by jumping ship and abandoning their indie roots for major label Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. The result of the trio’s defection was The Moon & Antartica, a much more thoughtful, mellowed down version of the band that one thrashed about doin’ the cockroach. Now Modest Mouse is back with Everywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks, an EP compilation consisting of the four songs from the out-of-print 12” Night on the Sun, along with three new tracks and “one trippy re-mix of several songs” from Moon.

Frontman Isaac Brock’s endearingly whiny voice and distinct guitar sound remain, but something seems amiss in Everywhere—as if the energy has been sucked completely dry from Modest Mouse. Brian Deck’s production removes the edge and luster from the Modest Mouse sound, leaving the band sounding too dull and warm. The first track, “Willful Suspension of Disbelief,” starts ethereally with a falsetto “everywhere” layered over and over in the background, but this soon proves mind-numbing rather than inspiring. The next two tracks, “Night on the Sun,” a Built to Spill-esque tune that spans seven minutes and 38 seconds, and “3 Inch Horses, Two Faced Monsters,” which takes on a country twang, both manage to embody the same listlessness from which the entire first half of the EP suffers. “You’re the Good Things” improves slightly on the formula with a little screaming and a little more of the Modest Mouse energy we’ve come to expect, but this excitement is toned down again by “The Air,” the aforementioned “trippy re-mix” by Deck that takes the listener on a brief instrumental journey without leaving a lasting impression. The final three tracks, “So Much Beauty in Dirt,” “Here It Comes” and “I Came As a Rat (Long Walk Off a Short Dock)” are throwbacks to classic Modest Mouse style with a combination of vigor and witty lyrics (“The rich get money but never what they want”). It’s clear by the end, however, that there wasn’t enough quality material to cash in on another full-length album. Modest Mouse fans: you may be disappointed.

—Ken F. Tsang

Jamiroquai
A Funk Odyssey
Epic Records

Jamiroquai’s fifth studio album, A Funk Odyssey, was released last week in typical Jamiroquai style, going straight to number one on Billboard.com’s Top Electronic Albums Chart. There is obviously something in Jay Kay’s infectious disco-funk grooves that people seem happy to keep coming back for again and again. The big question is, does it just sound the same as the rest of Jamiroquai’s music? Listening to the new album, these fears are almost immediately assuaged. Not because it’s a brilliant shift of direction, but because in the music’s subtleties it becomes obvious that Jamiroquai’s sound is evolving and encompassing a wider musical range, while holding on to the grooves that have captured so many listeners. The first few tracks are vintage Jamiroquai, the standout being the first single, “Little L,” which has the band’s signature high energy. With a funky beat and a catchy, singable chorus, it’s the kind of song that has become par for Jamiroquai’s course over the years. It’s only as the album progresses, though, that its sound diversifies, and the quality really picks up.

“Corner of the Earth” opens with a rich, Middle-Eastern orchestration, a hint of world music which adds interest to the song. Similarly, the orchestrations for the softer, more mellow ballads “Black Crow” and “Picture of My Life” set them apart. In particular, “Picture of My Life” is one of the album’s high points. It is a testament to Jay Kay’s songwriting skills when he turns the lyrics “I never had a dream that I could follow through / Only tears left to stain” into something supremely uplifting.

A Funk Odyssey is a very good album, both upbeat and introspective, with plenty to keep you entertained, and plenty to groove to. But one can’t help getting the feeling that Jay Kay is still searching for that elusive song that will equal the brilliance of “Virtual Insanity.” He’s not going to find it by sticking to his tried-and-true formula, but perhaps the evolution that this album represents is one step further along that formidable quest.

—Daniel M. S. Raper