An Eraser and a Maze

I am a Modest Mouse fanatic, so my bias is clear and on display here. I do not believe they have had a single bad album so you won't find anything different on that front here.

I will say that this may not be my favorite album. But they all grow on me more and more the longer I listen to them so we'll see where this lands as time goes on.

It starts strong with "Picking Dragon's Pockets", which is a timely romp through the current state of things. Perhaps my favorite and certainly the most single-friendly release.

But there are some real tonal shifts with some very sad songs throughout rather than the brief punctation amidst chaotic energy. Third Side of the Moon is a real three-hanky sorta song, oozing with genuine wistfulness and the usual wit.

Modest Mouse has continued to be cool, even if you got burnt out on the summer(s) of Float On. The Golden Casket being a masterful whiplash of witty words and frenetic sounds. And Strangers to Ourselves no slouch either.

So if you've enjoyed their work (and don't use stupid cut offs like pre-Good News), then you'll likely enjoy this. It's their first album back on an independent label as well so I feel like it is missing some tightness and polish, but that doesn't mean equating it to The Moon and Antarctica and the before times. They're all a bit different but they've all got an Isaac Brock signature pulling the beautiful cacophony together.

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