“˜Big Three’ bands down to one?

There are some bands that everyone can agree on.

Instances of music with near-universal appeal are rare at best. But, once in a blue moon, a band riding overwhelming critical acclaim will get noticed on a larger scale and, by some miracle, retain the element that their previous fan base loves while delivering music too good for new ears to deny. At present, I can think of three major examples: Modest Mouse, Wilco, and Radiohead.

Imagine my surprise when my young, soft-spoken friend (the kind of mousy girl you’d hardly expect to listen to anything abrasive) started playing Modest Mouse’s “Bukowski” in the car on the way home from school. I couldn’t help but be surprised as my UCSB sorority-girl friend explained her love of Wilco’s “Heavy Metal Drummer” to me. Even one of my friends at UCLA, who still likes Yellowcard and rarely has the patience to make it past the two minute mark of a song, admits that she loves the song “No Surprises” by Radiohead. Only with bands like these are such moments possible.

And so what exactly do these three have in common, other than being my “Big Three” of universally likeable music? This year they’re all dropping new albums.

Modest Mouse spent a long time flying below the radar, releasing four studio albums before making it into the spotlight with their 2004 hit song, “Float On.” The balance struck on their fifth album, “Good News for People Who Love Bad News” was a delicate but well-executed one: Frontman Isaac Brock retained his pensive quirkiness but contrasted it with more upbeat and melodic tracks. The album’s broad spectrum of dark to jubilant, of somber to dancy, had a little something for everyone.

Unfortunately, Modest Mouse’s newest album, “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank,” which was released on March 20, fails to maintain the balance of its predecessor. The album feels as if Brock took the success of “Float On” to heart and decided to write a whole album in its vein; its 60 minutes is filled with oft-repetitive ’80s throwback dance beats and witnesses Brock struggling to maintain his singular identity among music that’s anything but (though this may have something to do with the presence of Johnny Marr, former Smiths guitarist, who appears on the album and has since joined Modest Mouse).

The situation is less bleak with Wilco, but not by much. Their last two albums set a high standard of excellence to be followed “”mdash; the ragged experimentation of “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” and the visceral art-rock of “A Ghost is Born” remain highlights of music in the new millennium. And, because Wilco has eased itself into the spotlight rather than been rocketed there unexpectedly, commercial pressures are considerably less of an influence.

But “Sky Blue Sky”, the latest from Wilco, fails to deliver. Set to be released on May 15 but already all over the Internet thanks to a full-album stream from Wilco’s Web site, “Sky Blue Sky” sounds like Wilco covering classic rock songs. While the songs themselves do not disappoint, everything that made Wilco different is lacking: Leader Jeff Tweedy has eschewed his vulnerable humanity, the album is totally lacking in experimentation, catchy hooks are few and far between, and the more carefully crafted musicianship forsakes the energy and raw affect of previous efforts.

Which leaves only Radiohead who, in my humble opinion, is The Only Band That Matters. In the ten years since the release of my favorite album of all time, “OK Computer,” Radiohead has delivered consistently high-quality, progressive music that impresses both music nerds and the mainstream alike.

And, while I only have live demos from last year’s tour as my evidence, Radiohead is shaping up to be the only member of the Big Three that will deliver a worthwhile album this year. As two of the three bands with this near-universal appeal have disappointed, it seems that Thom Yorke and his buddies will once again have to save the world of music.

If you don’t find yourself liking any of the Big Three, e-mail Duhamel at [email protected].