Modest Mouse

VIMTV Album Review #428: Modest Mouse – The Lonesome Crowded West

Jake: Highly Recommended, 90/100

Tom: Highly Recommended, 93/100

Verdict: An indie-rock classic, but a truly great album regardless of canonization.
Overview: The Lonesome Crowded West is a 70+ minute epic of an indie-rock album. It’s loaded with variety across the board: style, mood, attitude, dynamics, and just about everything else you could think of. But what truy makes this album incredible is that they’re able to do everything so well. Regardless of the variety, you never feel like they’re better at one style than another, and somehow the album flows immaculately. This is one-of-a-kind listen that will rarely end in disappointment.

Jake’s Track Picks:

1. Teeth Like God’s Shoeshine
6. Doin’ the Cockroach
9. Out Of Gas
15. Styrofoam Boots / It’s All Nice On Ice, Alright

Tom’s Track Picks:

1. Teeth Like God’s Shoeshine
6. Doin’ the Cockroach
14. Bankrupt On Selling
15. Styrofoam Boots / It’s All Nice On Ice, Alright

VIMTV Research Links:

Teeth Like God’s Shoeshine

Doin’ the Cockroach

Modest Mouse Documentary Pt. 1

VIMTV Episode #34: Modest Mouse – The Moon and Antarctica

Jake: Highly Recommended, 97/100

Tom: Highly Recommended, 100/100

Overview: Forget what you knew about Modest Mouse. For this 2000 release they got serious. And dark. While some of the lyrics are still playful in some of the same ways that they were for “This Is A Long Drive…” and “Lonesome Crowded West,” the instrumentals backing them completely change their meaning. Isaac Brock is constantly assaulting religious and epistemological themes, employing the same harmonic bends on his guitar but using them for sarcasm rather than joviality. This album rocks harder, but also gets softer and darker than anything they’ve ever done. Amazing.

Recommended Similar Artists: Built To Spill, The Shins, The Arcade Fire, Mercury Rev

Jake’s Track Picks: