Modest Mouse | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Exploring a jagged, lo-fi post-rock after forming in the mid-90s, Modest Mouse became unlikely chart-toppers with a volatile mix of punk-inspired rawness and simmering atmosphere in the following decade. The band first broke through to the mainstream audience with the platinum-selling Good News for People Who Love Bad News, their fourth full-length, in 2005. Johnny Marr, legendary guitarist with the Smiths, was an official member when they went all the way to number one with 2007s We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. Confirming their status as genuine rock stars, eight years later, 2015s Strangers to Ourselves reached number three on the Billboard 200 (without Marr). Modest Mouse was founded in 1993 by guitarist and vocalist Isaac Brock, bassist Eric Judy, and drummer Jeremiah Green. Brock, who had a nomadic childhood, was only 18 and living in a shed next to his mothers trailer home when Modest Mouse began working together, with the shed becoming the bands rehearsal space and base of operations. In 1994, Modest Mouse booked time at Calvin Johnsons Dub Narcotic Studio in Olympia, Washington to cut their first record, and Johnson released their debut 7", "Blue Cadet-3, Do You Connect?," on his K Records label. Modest Mouse soon began work on an album, but the project was abandoned and the material went unreleased until 2001, when it appeared on a collection called Sad Sappy Sucker. After releasing a handful of singles, Modest Mouse went into the studio with Johnson as producer to record an EP, The Fruit That Ate Itself, but by the time it was released, the group had already moved on to another Northwest-based indie label, Up Records. Released in 1996, This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About, produced in collaboration with Steve Wold (who would find fame a few years later as grizzled blues hobo Seasick Steve), was Modest Mouses first proper album, and received enthusiastic reviews in the independent music press. In 1997, Modest Mouse returned with The Lonesome Crowded West, which earned more positive press and was a considerable sales success by indie label standards, supported by extensive touring. As Modest Mouses following grew, they were courted by major-label scouts, and they eventually signed with Epic Records, who released The Moon & Antarctica in 2000. A collection of demos and session outtakes, Everywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks, was issued in 2001, and Brock released an album with his side project Ugly Casanova in 2002. In 2003, it was announced that drummer Green had left Modest Mouse; Benjamin Weikel of the Helio Sequence became the groups new percussionist (he also doubled on keyboards), and Dann Gallucci, who had been a guest guitarist on the sessions for Sad Sappy Sucker and The Lonesome Crowded West, became an official member of the band. The new lineup recorded 2004s Good News for People Who Love Bad News, which proved to be Modest Mouses commercial breakthrough, rising to the Top 20 of the album charts, spawning the hit singles "Float On" and "Ocean Breathes Salty," and selling over a million copies as the band began headlining arenas. By the end of 2004, Green returned to Modest Mouse, and in 2006, after Gallucci left the group, the band recruited Johnny Marr to take his place for the recording of their next album. Marr not only appeared on 2007s We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, he became a full member of Modest Mouse and toured with the group in support of the album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. In 2005, Brock had launched his own record label, Glacial Pace Records, saying the name reflected his own slow working habits; while Modest Mouse continued to play live shows, work on their next album progressed very gradually, and in 2009 they issued a collection of outtakes and non-LP single sides, No Ones First, And Youre Next, as a stopgap. A tour was launched in support, but as Marr had joined the Cribs, Jim Fairchild (who had worked with Grandaddy and All Smiles) became the groups new guitarist, and when Modest Mouse played a round of shows in 2012, they debuted a new lineup with the addition of second percussionist Joe Plummer. While Eric Judy was still an official member of the band, for some 2012 dates he was replaced by multi-instrumentalist Tom Peloso, who had been touring with the group as a sideman since 2004. In 2014, Modest Mouse issued the single "Lampshades on Fire" in anticipation of the release of their sixth studio album, Strangers to Ourselves, in March 2015. The song became their first alternative number one since "Float On," and the album returned them to the U.S. Top Three. Describing the follow-up as a companion album to Strangers to Ourselves, Brock and band issued lead single "Poison the Well" in March 2019. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 9 Title: This Is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About Released: 1996-04-16 Tracks: 18 Duration: 1:26:12 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Dramamine (05:42) 2 Breakthrough (04:06) 3 Custom Concern (04:28) 4 Might (01:31) 5 Lounge (06:33) 6 Beach Side Property (06:59) 7 She Ionizes and Atomizes (04:21) 8 Head South (04:22) 9 Dog Paddle (02:02) 10 Novocain Stain (03:42) 1 Tundra/Desert (05:24) 2 Ohio (06:01) 3 Exit Does Not Exist (04:57) 4 Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset (05:50) 5 Make Everyone Happy / Mechanical Birds (06:04) 6 Space Travel Is Boring (01:53) 7 Edit the Sad Parts (07:04) 8 A Manic Depressive Named Laughing Boy (05:07) |
| This Is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About : Allmusic album Review : Expanding upon the themes of emotional and geographic isolation found in the bands previous work, This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About finds Modest Mouse mixing slow, brooding numbers such as "Custom Concern" and "Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset" with thrashing guitar workouts like "Breakthrough" and "Head South." The general mood here is one of loneliness and desperation, eloquently expressed through both the lyrics and the rhythmic, sprawling instrumentation. "Dramamine," for instance, with its driving, mid-tempo beat and ricocheting guitar line, sums up the hopelessness of a doomed relationship, while the frantic "Head South" deals with the feeling of "being ashamed of your old space." The mandolin, slide guitar, and cello featured throughout the album give the songs a certain degree of depth that makes them stand out from average indie rock fare. In general, This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About is a fine album, and Modest Mouse distinguishes itself here with songs whose meanings are simultaneously universal and painfully personal. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 9 Title: The Lonesome Crowded West Released: 1997-11-18 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:17:54 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Teeth Like God’s Shoeshine (06:53) 2 Heart Cooks Brain (04:02) 3 Convenient Parking (04:08) 4 Baby Blue Sedan (04:04) 5 Jesus Christ Was an Only Child (02:36) 6 Doin’ the Cockroach (04:18) 7 Cowboy Dan (06:14) 8 Trailer Trash (05:49) 1 Out of Gas (02:31) 2 Long Distance Drunk (03:42) 3 Shit Luck (02:22) 4 Truckers Atlas (10:57) 5 Polar Opposites (03:29) 6 Bankrupt on Selling (02:53) 7 Lounge (Closing Time) (07:03) 8 Styrofoam Boots / It’s All Nice on Ice, Alright (06:53) |
| The Lonesome Crowded West : Allmusic album Review : Talk about original -- this band has something for just about everyone. They can do quiet, brooding acoustics like "Bankrupt on Selling," dark and pounding thrashers like "Cowboy Dan," funky jump-around emo like "Jesus Christ Was an Only Child" -- just about anything. Throughout the whole album is a white-trash feeling and a sort of down-to-earth analysis of the state of the world, without sounding pretentious. Give this album a listen and you can be sure that you will be singing the rambling, catchy, almost whiny vocals in no time. If you dig indie rock at its very best, go pick this album up. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 9 Title: Building Nothing Out of Something Released: 1999 Tracks: 12 Duration: 55:24 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Never Ending Math Equation (03:23) 2 Interstate 8 (04:40) 3 Broke (03:19) 4 Medication (05:01) 5 Workin’ on Leavin’ the Livin’ (06:40) 6 All Night Diner (04:46) 7 Baby Blue Sedan (04:04) 8 A Life of Artic Sounds (02:29) 9 Sleepwalkin’ (03:23) 10 Grey Ice Water (05:05) 11 Whenever You Breathe Out, I Breathe In (Positive Negative) (05:18) 12 Other People’s Lives (07:10) |
| Building Nothing Out of Something : Allmusic album Review : Building Nothing Out of Something collects Modest Mouse singles and rare tracks from the groups indie-label years, including the studio tracks from the Interstate 8 EP and their contributions to the Sub Pop Singles Club. Despite the songs motley origins, Building Nothing Out of Something works well as an album, balancing the groups quirky and often poignant pop songs with their more abrasive rock side. The wonderfully dreamy, off-kilter "Interstate 8" and "Workin on Leavin the Livin" (which cleverly quotes Eraserheads "Lady in the Radiator Song") are two shining examples of the groups elastic, loopy guitar pop, while "All Nite Diner," "A Life of Arctic Sounds," and "Other Peoples Lives" define their high-strung rock sound. Slower songs like "Grey Ice Water" and the Santo & Johnny homage "Sleepwalkin" round out this look at Modest Mouses diverse but consistently worthwhile indie output. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 9 Title: The Moon & Antarctica Released: 2000-06-13 Tracks: 15 Duration: 59:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 3rd Planet (03:59) 2 Gravity Rides Everything (04:19) 3 Dark Center of the Universe (05:03) 4 Perfect Disguise (02:41) 5 Tiny Cities Made of Ashes (03:42) 6 A Different City (03:08) 7 The Cold Part (05:00) 8 Alone Down There (02:22) 1 The Stars Are Projectors (08:47) 2 Wild Packs of Family Dogs (01:46) 3 Paper Thin Walls (03:01) 4 I Came as a Rat (03:48) 5 Lives (03:18) 6 Life Like Weeds (06:31) 7 What People Are Made Of (02:14) |
| The Moon & Antarctica : Allmusic album Review : Modest Mouses Epic debut, The Moon & Antarctica, finds them strangely subdued, focusing on mortality as well as the moody, acoustic side of their music and downplaying the edgy rock that helped make them indie stars. Not that their first major-label release sounds like a sellout -- actually, the slight sheen of Brian Decks production enhances the albums introspective tone -- but occasionally The Moon & Antarcticas melancholy becomes ponderous. Unfortunately, the albums middle stretch contains three such songs, "The Cold Part," "Alone Down There," and "The Stars Are Projectors," which tend to blur together into one 17-minute-long piece that bogs down the albums momentum. Individually, each of these songs is sweeping and haunting in its own right, but grouping them together blunts their impact. However, this trilogy does provide a sharp contrast to, as well as a bridge across, The Moon & Antarcticas more vibrant beginning and end. Though it explores death and the afterlife, The Moon & Antarcticas liveliest moments are its most effective. "3rd Planet"s simple, ramshackle melody and strange, moving lyrics ("Your heart felt good"), the elastic guitars on "Gravity Rides Everything," and the angular, jumpy "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes" and "A Different City" get the album off to a strong start, while the fresh, unaffected "Wild Packs of Family Dogs," "Paper Thin Walls," and "Lives" bring it to an atmospheric, affecting peak before "What People Are Made Of" closes the album with a climactic burst of noise. Their most cohesive collection of songs to date, The Moon & Antarctica is an impressive, if flawed, map of Modest Mouses ambitions and fears. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 9 Title: Sad Sappy Sucker Released: 2001-04-24 Tracks: 24 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Worms Vs. Birds (?) 2 Four Fingered Fisherman (?) 3 Wagon Ride Return (?) 4 Classy Plastic Lumber (?) 5 From Point a to Point B (∞) (?) 6 Path of Least Resistance (?) 7 It Always Rains on a Picnic (?) 8 Dukes Up (?) 9 Think Long (?) 10 Every Penny Fed Car (?) 11 Mice Eat Cheese (?) 12 Race Car Grin You Aint No Landmark (?) 13 Red Hand Case (?) 14 Secret Agent X-9 (?) 15 Blue Cadet-3, Do You Connect? (?) 16 Call to Dial a Song (?) 17 5-4-3-2-1 Lips Off (?) 18 Woodgrain (?) 19 BMX Crash (?) 20 Sucker Bet (?) 21 Black Blood & Old Newagers (?) 22 SWY (?) 23 Australopithecus (?) 24 Sin Gun Chaser (?) |
| Sad Sappy Sucker : Allmusic album Review : Sad Sappy Sucker is Modest Mouses "lost album." It was recorded by K Records Calvin Johnson in 1994 and was supposed to be the bands debut, but delays shelved the record and it disappeared. The 2001 release of Sad Sappy Sucker gives fans an opportunity to see the humble beginnings of one of the Pacific Northwests most original bands. All 12 songs recorded during the Dub Narcotic Studio sessions are on the album, including the impossible to find Worms Vs. Birds 7". As a bonus treat, there are nine songs from Isaac Brocks Dial-a-Song project. These were on his answering machine every day and could only be heard by calling in. The thick textures, crazy drawl vocals, and grand flair of later Modest Mouse albums such as The Lonesome Crowded West and The Moon & Antarctica are not fully realized on Sad Sappy Sucker. But Modest Mouses future suburban sprawl is evident in the chug-chug of "From Point A to Point B" and the slow/fast groove of "Race Car Grin You Aint No Landmark." On the latter, Brock sings, "Looks like accountings not accountable for anything or anyone at all." But Sad Sappy Sucker is no case of a "reissue, repackage, repackage" revenue scheme, this album is a gift for die-hard fans, put out by a label that probably loves Modest Mouse as much as the fans do. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 9 Title: Good News for People Who Love Bad News Released: 2004-04-06 Tracks: 16 Duration: 48:47 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Horn Intro (00:09) 2 The World at Large (04:32) 3 Float On (03:28) 4 Ocean Breathes Salty (03:47) 5 Dig Your Grave (00:12) 6 Bury Me With It (03:49) 7 Dance Hall (02:57) 8 Bukowski (04:14) 9 This Devil’s Workday (02:19) 10 The View (04:13) 11 Satin in a Coffin (02:35) 12 Interlude (Milo) (00:58) 13 Blame It on the Tetons (05:24) 14 Black Cadillacs (02:43) 15 One Chance (03:04) 16 The Good Times Are Killing Me (04:16) |
| Good News for People Who Love Bad News : Allmusic album Review : After more than a decade with Modest Mouse, Isaac Brock still sounds young and weird and searching, and never more so than on Good News for People Who Love Bad News, which follows the bands meditative The Moon & Antarctica with a set of songs that are more focused, but also less obviously profound. The occasionally indulgent feel of The Moon & Antarctica allowed Modest Mouse the room to make epic statements about life, death, and the afterlife; while Good News for People Who Love Bad News is equally concerned with mortality and spirituality, it has a more active, immediate feel that makes its comments on these subjects that much more pointed. The band hits these points home with a louder, more rock-oriented sound than theyve had since The Lonesome Crowded West, particularly on "Bury Me with It," which embodies many of the contradictions that continue to make Modest Mouse fascinating. For a song loosely about contemplating death, it sounds strikingly vital and liberated; Brock delivers finely shaded lyrics like "We are hummingbirds whove lost the plot and we will not move" with a barbaric yawp; its nonsensical but oddly climactic, conveying how what seems trivial can be anything but. "The View"s angular bassline and scratchy guitars underscore the Talking Heads influence on Modest Mouse, but since the Heads have become a more trendy touchstone (mostly for bands with less creativity than either Talking Heads or Modest Mouse), its nice to hear how Brock and company take that influence in a different direction instead of just rehashing it with less inspiration. Feeling stuck is a major theme on Good News for People Who Love Bad News, but the same cant be said about the albums sound, which spans the forceful rock of the aforementioned songs, to the pretty guitar pop of "Float On" and "Ocean Breathes Salty," to the lovely, rustic "Blame It on the Tetons." Thats not even mentioning the contributions of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, who open Good News for People Who Love Bad News with the aptly named "Horn Intro." They also add a theatrical jolt to the wickedly funny, Tom Waits-inspired "Devils Workday," which along with the noisy stomp of "Dance Hall" and "Bukowski"s witty self-loathing, underscore that Modest Mouse havent lost the edge that made the band compelling in the first place. Other standouts include "Satin in a Coffin," a creatively creepy mix of rattling bluegrass-rock with a tango beat that nods to the groups backwater roots; "One Chance," an unusually open and straightforward ballad; and the dreamlike "World at Large," on which Brock sings, "I like songs about drifters -- books about the same/They both seem to make me feel a little less insane," once again proving that hes a past master of lyrics that are both abstract and precise. Even though this album isnt as immediately or showily brilliant as The Moon & Antarctica, Good News for People Who Love Bad News reveals itself as just as strong a statement. By drawing an even sharper contrast between the harsh and beautiful things about their music, as well as life, Modest Mouse have made an album thats moving and relevant without being pretentious about it. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 9 Title: Baron von Bullshit Rides Again Released: 2004-04-06 Tracks: 10 Duration: 45:33 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 3rd Planet (05:25) 2 Never Ending Math Equation (03:38) 3 Wild Packs of Family Dogs (01:59) 4 Broke (03:36) 5 Paper Thin Walls (04:51) 6 I Came as a Rat (06:24) 7 Doin the Cockroach (07:30) 8 Bankrupt on Selling (03:04) 9 Interstate 8 (04:01) 10 The Good Times Are Killing Me (05:00) |
 | Album: 8 of 9 Title: We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank Released: 2007-03-20 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:02:33 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 March Into the Sea (03:30) 2 Dashboard (04:06) 3 Fire It Up (04:34) 4 Florida (02:57) 5 Parting of the Sensory (05:34) 6 Missed the Boat (04:24) 7 We’ve Got Everything (03:40) 8 Fly Trapped in a Jar (04:29) 9 Education (03:56) 10 Little Motel (04:44) 11 Steam Engenius (04:26) 12 Spitting Venom (08:27) 13 People as Places as People (03:42) 14 Invisible (03:59) |
| We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank : Allmusic album Review : Now that Modest Mouse have fully established themselves as a major-label indie rock band -- no longer an oxymoron! -- with the success of 2004s Good News for People Who Love Bad News (though they had actually been on Sony, through Epic, since 2000s The Moon & Antarctica), they face the difficult task of trying to follow up a mainstream hit while still retaining the adroit quirkiness that won them fans in the first place. Finding that space between "creativity" and "accessibility" is not easy, but the band (with help from Johnny Marr, among others) is probably as well, if not better, equipped as anyone to tackle the challenge. The first single, "Dashboard," is catchy and interesting, even a little off-kilter, but its also completely radio-friendly, in that dancey Franz Ferdinand kind of way, and the albums opener, "March into the Sea," has great juxtaposition between Isaac Brocks maniacal Cookie Monster laugh and lighter accordion and string work. Its slightly unconventional, and has that raucous energy the band has thrived on, but its also wholly understandable and approachable, and a lot of fun. Still, too often it seems as if Modest Mouse plays it safe on We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. James Mercer, the singer of the "life-changing" Garden State darlings the Shins, shows up three times on background vocals, and while on "Florida" this works well enough, "Missed the Boat" and "Weve Got Everything" are among the weakest tracks on the record, too predictable, in that radio-indie-rock style, to do much more than just take up space. Theres nothing overtly wrong with them (or the similarly boring "Education" or "People as Places as People") -- Brocks lyrics are as wackily introspective as ever -- but the band had never just gotten by on being nice-sounding and unmemorable. Its not that Modest Mouse has lost it, or sold out; tracks like "Parting of the Sensory" and "Fly Trapped in a Jar" combine digestible guitar lines and phrasing with a rawer intensity, and show that the group is indeed capable of moving innovate "indie" music to the mainstream ("someday you will die somehow and somethings gonna steal your carbon," Brock sings ingeniously over pounding, swirling drums in a kind of post-modern chant in "Parting"), but overall, We Were Dead Before... has chosen the safer, more acceptable route over the more adventurous one. Modest Mouse is a talented bunch, and so the album still works, is still enjoyable. But because theyve built themselves on pushing boundaries and traditional sounds, its also a glaring representation of all they could do, but wont. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 9 Title: Strangers to Ourselves Released: 2015-03-13 Tracks: 15 Duration: 57:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Strangers to Ourselves (03:24) 2 Lampshades on Fire (03:08) 3 Shit in Your Cut (04:44) 4 Pistol (A. Cunanan, Miami, FL. 1996) (03:42) 5 Ansel (02:56) 6 The Ground Walks, With Time in a Box (06:12) 7 Coyotes (03:31) 8 Pups to Dust (03:41) 9 Sugar Boats (04:03) 10 Wicked Campaign (03:34) 11 Be Brave (03:31) 12 God Is an Indian and You’re an Asshole (01:17) 13 The Tortoise and the Tourist (03:41) 14 The Best Room (04:25) 15 Of Course We Know (05:21) |
| Strangers to Ourselves : Allmusic album Review : Perhaps the success of "Float On" discombobulated Isaac Brock even more than we suspected. Surely, there were signs of aimlessness on We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, the 2007 sequel to the surprise 2004 smash Good News for People Who Love Bad News, a record where hired gun Johnny Marr was brought aboard to give the band a jolt. This booster shot wore off quickly and Brock receded from the spotlight, sitting out the better part of a decade before re-emerging with Strangers to Ourselves in the spring of 2015. In the interim, he shed longterm collaborator Eric Judy -- he left sometime around 2012, replaced by Russell Higbee -- added guitarist Jim Fairchild and auxiliary player Lisa Molinaro, attempted to record an album with Big Boi, toyed with bringing Krist Novoselic aboard, then finally decided to get back to where he once belonged. Brocks return to roots is naturally a roundabout of detours, a record that bounces between stylized eccentricity and streamlined strangeness, stopping occasionally to soak in a scenic, dreamy view. Strangers to Ourselves starts at this hazy point, swooning with a narcotic sway that recalls peak Mercury Rev, but its not long before Modest Mouse begins bouncing at a syncopation that recalls "Float On," just one of many deliberate references to the ghosts of alt-rock past haunting Strangers to Ourselves. "Pistol" skeeves out like a disco-fied outtake from Weens Pure Guava, the carnivalesque "Sugar Boats" lurches forward on a circus piano reminiscent of Blur, "The Best Room" circles around a guitar riff that echoes Space Ghost Coast to Coast, each a signal that Brock is comfortable keeping the dream of the 90s. The trick is, he now has the skill of a consummate craftsman, so the raggedness here comes across as deliberate, probably because the moments that are less consciously quirky -- i.e., the bulk of the album -- are so skillfully constructed. So, Strangers to Ourselves is an album where the trees matter more than the forest: song for song, it demonstrates the exacting nature of Brock but put it all together, it sprawls. | ||