Blau, guess who's back? Dat's right y'all, Isaac muthafucking Brock is back with his band Modest Mouse's newest release on Epic records, Good News For People Who Love Bad News. And guess what Y'all, you aint gotta drive to no shitty Independent record store to pick this Phat-ass album up! Shit is available at Fuckin Target, fools. I'm all watchin Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network the other night and during the commercial break, on comes my boy Isaac wearing a fake mustache all singing the hit single from his new album, Float on (track three). Then this bad-ass voice says "The new album from Modest Mouse, Good News For People Who Love Bad News, available at Target!" I was like "Shit-Damn, gonna get me some of that!" Then when I do break down and buy the shit, I throw it in, and mutherfucker is trying to do this Tom Waits shit with a Japanese-steakhouse-soundin pan flute. It was like muther fucker was standing out side his house trying to get me to come in bein all "It's cool, I know the last time you came over some wierd shit happened and you weren't into it, but this time is different." "I got that white-ass fool Dennis Herring, you know, dude that worked with Camper van Beethoven and shit, to produce this album." "It's gonna make all the white bitches go ape-shit!" And I'm all like, "what the shit are you talking about? Didn't you used to be all hard and shit? I mean you're still barking like a cracked out white rapper on the sixth track, Bury Me, but shit man, you ain't even kind of scary no more. And I liked your crazy shit!"

Don't get me wrong, the album is tight, I'm down, dude even got the Flaming Lips to play banjo and additional instrumentation on two tracks, but it's not the same. I guess it's kinda like when you see this crazy mutherfucker you known as a total badass for like... ever, and dude is just crying with like snot commin out his nose cause his girl dumped him. If fucks up your whole world-view. Don't get me wrong, Brock is still a total nut-job, it just sounds like somebody else told him to ease back a little so he can sell albums to the cute girls too.

I dig the album, I even dig the single, but this shit just ain't the same crazy-ass vintage Mouse shit we used to get. Dude definitely matured and wrote a great record but in the process, he seems to have lost a step. Earlier in this review you may have been led to believe that I don't step to Tom Waits' shit. On the contrary, I consider Waits to be one of the scariest-bad-ass-white-boys on the planet, even after doing a duet with Bette Middler in his early years. Isaac seems to be trying to pull a second coming of Tom on a few of the tracks, namely eight and nine; shit's all right, but I like it better when Tom does it. The album snaps right back with a rocker on track ten, The View, which makes the previous two tracks seem even more weird and shit.

I'm glad Isaac is doin well for himself, even if he put on a few pounds since he came around last, but gettin fatter must of chilled him out. I recommend the new album; I know it sounds like all I'm doin is talking shit here, but the album is great. It's just not the same Modest Mouse I remember. Do me a favor Brock, make your self some money on this record, have a good time, then mix in a few crunches in between beer and cheeseburgers and give us another scorcher.

P.S. Tom Waits ain't dead yet.

-Mekilla