We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, Epic Records.

Grade: A

Wilco is cited as a daring experimental band, but this album puts Modest Mouse in a whole new league.

Where Wilco's occasional stabs at sonic weirdness sometimes seem indulgent, Isaac Brock weaves intricate sounds with fascinating if oblique lyrics. And yes, death and boats do recur throughout the album, but it's a hard thread to follow.

Brock can be gorgeously low-key and acoustic (Little Motel), catching and abrasive (Fly Trapped in a Jar) or do all of it in one long song (Spitting Venom). The angry lyrics in Parting of the Sensory will ensure that the album's best track never gets airplay.

Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr is now a permanent MM member, but his presence doesn't significantly change the sound of a band that's been great for some time now.