Lyricist: Isaac Brock.
With the usual sinister rock undertones and winding, abstruse album name, Isaac Brock and his Pacific Northwest indie rock minstrels return in 2009 with the siren-ish EP NO ONE'S FIRST, AND YOU'RE NEXT. While the band is no stranger to switching up its style (this record returns to the dark melancholia and vaudevillian anachronism of their early Epic records as opposed to the borderline-disco flair of much of their mid-to-late '00s work), one constant of Modest Mouse records is its many subtle folds, both musical and lyrical, tailor-made for the listener to lose themselves within. And NO ONE'S FIRST is no different. Modest Mouse's songs build slowly and change suddenly as Brock unleashes his poetry at will with a trademarked e.e. cummings-esque love of language and a disdain for conformed-to structure, pausing on phrases at seemingly spontaneous intervals then letting them drop. NO ONE'S FIRST packs a lot of Modest Mouse living into its half-hour plus, and while it's a journey to places they've seen before, there's still bounteous hidden thrills inside.
Modest Mouse had their commercial breakthrough with Good News for People Who Love Bad News and kept that momentum going with We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, but this EP felt like a breather for the band before their next full-length. Which is only fitting, considering that these tracks are re-recorded versions of songs laid down during the Good News and We Were Dead sessions (most of which were originally released on three limited-edition 7" singles). Yet No One's First and You're Next's overall sound is rawer than either of those albums, especially on "Satellite Skin," a rowdy, oddly Stones-y grind with some of Isaac Brock's most impassioned vocals in quite some time. Indeed, most of these songs don't feel like they would have fit on either of those albums, yet they still capture many sides of the band, including "Guilty Cocker Spaniels"' sunny strum and "Autumn Beds"' rustic acoustics. Much of No One's First and You're Next falls somewhere in between Good News and We Were Dead's straight-ahead hits and quirkier detours in a way that actually feels more of a piece with Modest Mouse's earlier work; "The Whale Song"'s moody melody and anguished-sounding guitars echo the darkness of The Moon & Antarctica. Given that No One's First and You're Next is essentially a re-recorded odds 'n' sods collection, it's not surprising that it tends to feel a little scattered. However, the EP's second half hooks into something of a groove, with "Perpetual Motion Machine"'s brassy bluster and "History Sticks to Your Feet"'s loopy rock providing highlights. The true standout, however, is "King Rat," which was originally a bonus track on We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. Opening with an almost obscene brass wail from the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, its righteous anger and backwater eccentricity make it quintessentially Modest Mouse. No One's First and You're Next may not be as cohesive as the band's other compilations, but it's still a satisfying stop-gap release and a must for hardcore fans who missed these songs on vinyl. ~ Heather Phares

Entertainment Weekly (p.60) - "Over crashing percussion and staticky guitars, frontman Isaac Brock tosses about churlish invective and odd non sequiturs in his trademark strangled holler." -- Grade: B