Review Summary: "We have designed, have designed, have designed more unusual things as yet..."
Modest Mouse’s eccentricity has significantly changed throughout the past twenty years. They began playing a fusion of low-fi indie and folk with a punk rock edge, which would eventually transform into a more accessible and mainstream sound in their brilliant 2000 release
The Moon & Antarctica. Two more albums would drop in that decade, continuing to capitalize on mainstream success while of course remaining true to their modest beginnings. One common trait throughout the widespread discography is a diverse mix of eclectic material utilizing a wide array of influences, from Tom Waits to the Meat Puppets.
Strangers to Ourselves once again covers a wide range of styles in the form of slow-burning, laid back songs like “*** In Your Cut” and “Wicked Campaign” to the bombastic qualities of “Pistol (A. Cunanan, Miami, FL. 1996)” and “Sugar Boats.” An absence of filler tracks that plagued a few past releases is an obvious positive, despite the fact that a few songs probably could have been cut. One noticeable quality is how it makes a significant effort to acknowledge the often times abrasive style of their earlier outputs, while at the same time mellowing out their sound even moreso than they had on recent material.
For Modest Mouse, the majority of
Strangers to Ourselves is surprisingly restrained and focused. The sense of completion is further realized with the use of an intro and outro. It is their first release with a title track, opening the album with a repetitious lullaby over Brock’s clever wordplay.
“We’re lucky that, that we’re capable to forget. How lucky that we are, that we are, so easy, so easy, to forget. How often we’ve become susceptible, to regret, I do regret. How often we are confused, how honestly we tried, but will forget.” Closer “Of Course We Know” is musically similar, but with a heavier emphasis on synths and percussion.
“The streets are just blankets, and we sleep on their silky corpse. Covered up by them, why would we ever want to wake up…? …The end is like cotton that we wear wherever we go. Covered up by this, why would we ever want to try on your clothes? Well of course we just do not know.” Brock’s always brilliant and clever wordplay centers on the state of the world as well as ambiguous territory, always being vividly insightful.
Lead single “Lampshades on Fire” makes use of staccato clean guitar riffing reminiscent of The Red Hot Chili Peppers. "The Ground Walks, With Time in a Box" is similar, sounding a bit like a cross between 2007 hit song "Dashboard" and the eight-minute epic “The Stars Are Projectors” from 2000. It consists of a danceable drumbeat and catchy guitar work, eventually leading into a flurry of atmospherics and mid tempo band jamming out the ending. Other breathtaking crescendos come in the form of atmospheric finales, and are incredibly effective to songs like “The Tortoise And The Tourist” and “Coyotes”. The latter begins as a gentle ballad dripping with melancholy, transitioning into a swirling blend of guitars and atmospherics over soaring vocals and heavenly guitars. It intensifies until breaking with quiet guitars strumming over Isaac Brock’s soulful crooning of
“We're in love, with all of it, and we say we're in love, with everything. And we lie, we love to lie.” Lyrical content has also veered into more personal and introspective territory, as opposed to their usual themes of mortality and fate.
A blending of past styles is present in the music as well as the lyrics, even bringing to mind the spacial themes of
The Moon & Antarctica. While few of these tracks are among the best the band has ever done,
Strangers to Ourselves sounds like a combination of their past three albums: just as polished but more subdued and digestible than 2004’s
Good News For People Who Love Bad News or 2007’s
We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank. It showcases a newfound understanding of consistency and restraint, all without the sacrifice of personality or eccentricity that is so vital to their sound.
Strangers to Ourselves is their most honest and focused release since
The Moon & Antarctica. Six years since new material hasn’t made Modest Mouse lose any of their incredible talent for piercing imagery, sharp lyrical intelligence, or sense of musical adventure.
