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ugly cassanova
Ugly Casanova is the side project of Modest Mouse front man Isaac Brock. by some reports, ugly casanova is Brocks alter-ego, and others attest that he is a down and out musician that forced his way backstage during one of Modest Mouse's concerts, only to wow them with his musical musings and finish out the rest of that particular tour headlining for them. later he was said to have disappeared for some years until a stack of his greasy music sheets were found addressed to Sub Pop records. it's also the name of Brocks publishing company...hmmm.
me, i think its just some of the best mellowed down modest mouse ive ever heard. lets not kid ourselves - paternity tests will prove that ugly casanova is, in fact, the birth child of the lead singer of modest mouse with a 99.9% accuracy. and if thats not enough for you, just take a listen. obviously, Isaac didnt set out to make anything shockingly different than the already prodigious brand of music he'd been working on with Modest Mouse, but whereas Modest Mouse can sometimes make you dizzy with all the different concepts of "noise" that they incorporate, Ugly Casanova just deals with the meaty heart of the songs and leaves all that symphonic experimentation at home.
the music pulls around in your head, tugs at your lower lip and pretty soon you have the title track's chorus of "sharpen your teeth....or lay flat" on a loop. there seems to be more focus on vocals, though not necessarily on lyrics which still get totally retarded "there was cum on the piano, there was disco dancin neighbors" but also, in true isaac brock style, skillfully intuitive "i dont know me and you dont know you so we're physically together cause i knew you like i knew myself"
you get more of isaac's whisper, more of his rage and more of his lisp. hes a ridiculously gifted man who has, by rule of all indie rocker handbooks, banished himself to his modest digs in oregon. there he built himself his own studio with the moniker "Glacial Pace Studios" which pretty much sums up how he likes to work. Ugly Casanovas album was recorded here with a odd selection of musicians such as Tim Rutili from Red Red Meat (one of Isaacs favorite bands), and Pall Jenkins from Black Heart Procession. Ugly Casanovas first album was released on the Sub Pop label, and will unfortunately be the only one for quite some time seeing as Epic, the label Modest Mouse is currently signed to, pulled some lawyerly crap and deemed that this side project was only going as far as one record.
but dont fret my dears. the whirlwind of rumors created to mask the true identity of Ugly Casanova may prove to be more beneficial than just a way to get talked about.
this modest mouse site is still the best way to go:
* a big thank you to craig rudewicz for taking the time to make me so many
damn good c.d.s *