4 out of 5

Label: Epic

Produced by: Dennis Herring

I’d have to be conflicted about this, so that rating is an attempt to moderate my feelings upon first hearing this versus now, when I’ve somewhat soured on the Mouse.

The brief, unnecessary history is that I was onboard sometime in the early 00s, instantly taking to the singles collection and Lonesome Crowded West.  Falling into a Red Red Meat / Califone groove soon after (admittedly inspired by Isaac Brock mentioning RRM in a Spin article), I was floored that Moon and Antarctica was Brian Deck produced, and though the album may not have hit as hard as their earlier releases, I loved it, finding it to be a smart balance between a major label sound and their own MM thing.

Roster changes.  Lots of to-do about the followup.  Out went Deck, in came Dennis Herring, sort of an odd match except for the sudden 80s references Brock started tossing around.  Harumph.

Float On / I’ve… was promo gifted to me at Tower Records.  It was my first opportunity to hear this “new” mouse, and Float On pretty much gives you all the cues you need to get that gist: More accessibly sardonic lyrics, very crisp, poppy drums, and high-pitched no-bendy-note riffs.  But you know what?  I was still floored.  Float On is a great single, and a single is exactly what it is.  All the edges are shaved off.  Even Brock’s signature warble had been tuned into a cute yelp, and where his words may once have taken a turn toward desolation, now they were dotted with color.  With the upbeat name of the song, it was easy to interpret this as something of a purposeful pop song appropriation, especially backed up by B-side ‘I’ve Got It All (Most)’, which, though it has that 80s reedy guitar sound, is structured and recorded (with its layers) much more like classic Mouse than most of Good News or even Moon & Antarctica; it seemed to suggest we’d be getting a really smart major label release that married Old and New with a smirk.

Time has proven otherwise.  Good News is a good album, but emptied out of a lot of the heart that made me love the band, and it became much more of an Isaac Brock project that something that felt driven by the energies of all its contributors.  With that retrospect, listening to this single is bittersweet.  I remember the hopes I had when first hearing it so long ago, and I can still recognize the contrast in tone with the B-Side.   But now I also hear it as the first indication of Brock – and Modest Mouse – getting older and losing their biting edge.

So I don’t know if four stars is a reasonable review, given that its tainted by emotion more than analysis, but its tough trying to remove bias in regard to one of your first loves, ya know?