After an extensive six year hiatus since their last release, Modest Mouse’s new record sounds a remarkable lot like… Modest Mouse. Crazy, right? After such a lengthy period since the likes of the No One’s First and You’re Next EP (2009) and a further two years since their most recent studio album We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (2007), you might expect to see some considerable changes on the new record – and perhaps even more so with the comings and goings of band members which has occurred over recent years.
But that’s the thing about Modest Mouse. Album to album, musically and stylistically, very little changes. Joining long-term members vocalist and guitarist Isaac Brock and drummer and percussionist Jeremiah Green the band now features new comers bassist Russell Higbee, violinist Lisa Molinaro, and drummer and percussionist Davey Brozowski as well as guitarist and vocalist Jim Fairchild who has recently rejoined the band. Still, the formula that makes Modest Mouse so entrancing doesn’t seem to have altered.
Just like all of their previous full-length records, Strangers To Ourselves, features the familiar and distinct sound that Modest Mouse have built their name on. While there may be some surprise as to the fact that certain recently recorded tracks did not make the cut for the new album, such as the 2011 collaboration with Big Boi and the 2013 collaboration with Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, as well as some unreleased songs that have been performed recently, however, the final product does not disappoint.
From frantic guitar solos to Isaac Brock’s unique manic rasp, Strangers To Ourselves reverently follows on the path that previous albums have laid. Even the track listing seems to be something of an art form, having each consecutive album beginning with a slightly softer and more subdued song, like a teaser set to ease the listener in before they unleash their full force on subsequent tracks.
With that being said, it is clearly evident how much the band has grown and progressed. There will of course be those few fans who will proclaim to prefer the slightly more raw sounding tracks of This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About (1996) and The Lonesome Crowded West (1997). And while it’s true that we all have our favourites, those who passionately protest, “their old stuff was better” (cringe), really haven’t got a leg to stand on here. Strangers To Ourselves is an overall more rounded, finished, well written and well produced record than we have previously seen from Modest Mouse, but importantly, it does not lose any of it’s grungy, untamed appeal.
That major differences between each record is the strong presence of underlying themes throughout. As the album title would suggest, Strangers To Ourselves reflects on the increasingly widespread western sentiment that we as humans have become disconnected from ourselves and our natural roots to the earth we inhabit.
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‘The Best Room’ focuses on ugly truths about the condition of our modern world, yet there is a sense of resigned acceptance, while Brock divulges that “these western concerns are all (he) really learned to be concerned with”. Similarly, closing track of the album ‘Of Course’ sings of a bittersweet song of failure, confusion and regret. Backed by a somber violin, lyrics “of course we know” are repeated and hint at the vague, disinterested awareness which the general population have of these social issues, and the underwhelming lack of effort made in attempts to inspire change.
Along that same subject, lyrics to ‘Be Brave’ decry that “the ocean doesn’t care, And we hardly even mattered”, while ‘Pups to Dust’ lyrics state “we don’t belong here, we were just born here”. Both tracks portray concepts of insignificance and delicately hone in on how trivial those aforementioned “western concerns” of ours are on a universal scale, in a way that is both confronting and humbling.
Modest Mouse have really set the bar this time. It’s a damn impressive feat that after more than 20 years on, the band has succeeded in consistently bringing out original, high quality music, all while maintaining their distinct, renowned sound. Strangers To Ourselves is another triumph in an already illustrious career – here’s hoping they won’t keep us waiting quite so long for the next record.
Strangers To Ourselves is out this Friday the 13th March via Sony.
