CD of The Week

In several key ways, Modest Mouse’s eighth studio album, An Eraser and a Maze, acts as a major reset for the Pacific Northwest indie rock stalwarts. After more than a quarter century on major label Epic, their new album is self-released and features considerably less polish. Perhaps more significantly, it’s the first album since the death of long-time drummer Jeremiah Green, who was the only founding member left other than frontman Isaac Brock. There isn’t much difference sonically with new drummer, Damon Cox, but Brock’s running lyrical theme on the album is his grief over his friend, which results in some of his most powerful songwriting in many years.

There is also an admirably loose quality to An Eraser and a Maze that has been stifled on recent releases. “Dogbed in Heaven / Give it a Skeleton” is a two part-track that starts as an offbeat, but still sincere, country ballad before transforming into an anxious rocker featuring Brock’s signature angry, pointed bark. Meanwhile, “Look How Far...” is the loudest Modest Mouse have been since their 90s output, with Janet Weiss (formerly of Sleater-Kinney) making a meal out of her cameo with aggressive, jagged drum fills that pull the song forward with wild abandon. 

The more accessible material also hits with more impact than the singles from recent releases. “Picking Dragon’s Pockets” is a sneakily profound but irresistibly catchy opener. The highlight of the album is “Third Side of the Moon,” which has a shuffling, partially acoustic arrangement to accompany lyrics that reflect on Green’s passing. Brock poignantly observes, “I wish I paid attention to every word you ever said / but you spoke in a whisper and I’m not in your head.” Other thoughts on grief and the process of moving forward show up on “Life’s a Dream” and “Speak ‘N Spell (Or Not),” where Brock seems relieved to croon “Life is f***ing awesome and I know that is / I know that because I’m living it.” Amazingly, this doesn’t register as corny in context.

While every Modest Mouse album has filler (even The Lonesome Crowded West), there are some real sour notes buried in the back stretch of An Eraser and a Maze that threaten to undercut the maturity and depth of the album’s best material.

Despite these stumbles, An Eraser and a Maze is the most complete and adventurous Modest Mouse album since 2007’s We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. Brock and his bandmates seem rejuvenated through the writing and performing of more personal material and the album possesses the same unique mixture of eccentricity, melody, and emotional honesty that has made Modest Mouse one of the most distinctive and essential bands of the last 30 years.

Modest Mouse will be returning to Philadelphia on Wednesday, August 19th with a show at The Fillmore.