Sharpen Your Teeth
Sub Pop
2002
Rating: 9 kidnapped blondes out of 10
For those not in the know, Ugly Casanova is the solo/side project of Modest Mouse front man Isaac Brock. And for those not familiar with Modest Mouse’s body of work, just go buy ‘This Is A Long Drive for Someone with Nothing To Think About,’ and welcome to one of your new favorite bands. Brock is assisted on this album by members of Califone, Red Red Meat, and Pall Jenkins of Black Heart Procession and Three Mile Pilot (as a side note, Three Mile Pilot are one of the greatest bands you’ve possibly never heard – go buy ‘Another Desert, Another Sea’ and welcome to another of your favorite bands). The music on ‘Sharpen Your Teeth’ doesn’t stray too far from Brock’s usual output, sounding for the most part like Modest Mouse songs with a dash of alt-country or americana thrown in for good measure. Current fans of Modest Mouse will not leave disappointed, or at least I wasn’t. Highlights include ‘Barnacles’, ‘Hotcha Girls’, and ‘Pacifico’, but honestly, I don’t think there’s a bad track on here, and the album holds a great fluidity from one song to the next that makes you want to listen to the release as a whole rather than in piecemeal parts. Plus, as a bonus, the album art was done by none other than Thomas Campbell, who is known in the skateboarding world as being a terrific photographer and artist to boot. All in all, a great package.
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