Modest Mouse

The Lonesome Crowded West (1997)

emptycauses

Its hard to last in the "Indie" scene

Its almost impossible to be a ground breaking band/artist (Pixies, Elliott Smith, Fugazi, Sonic Youth, Built to Spill)

Modest Mouse however, begins their ascent into that goup with this their 2nd full length, and my personal favorite cd by them. Their sound is not for everyone however, Isaac's vocals are very sharp and the music is insanely edgy. Imagine the Pixies just smoked some crack and got shot in the leg and their were no doctors around to make it better.

Now more about the album. This is MM's hardest release in terms of music. Their is almost no sign of folk, that will become visible in later releases. Because their is little to no folk, the music is faster with more rock. The lyrics are still good and still a little esoteric.

The album starts off with my favorite MM track ever, "Teeth like God's Shoeshine". Wow! Between the vocal pattern, the guitar hook, and the mid-song break down, I dont know how anyone cannot like this song. The listener should be pleased thru out the whole 7 minutes, its just an amazing song. Dont however, feel that just because the first song is the best, think you can just download that song and skip the rest of the album. This album is truelly a gift brought to the music community, and the music never stops being amazing. The next track is a slow one but will still keep you from pressing the skip button (due to its guitar hook) untill … the song just gets old. You see, the only reason why this album isnt perfect is because some songs just go for too damn long! Thankfully its only 2 or 3, and those tracks are still good. Heart Cooks Brain (Track 2) happens to be one of those songs. Next is Convenient Parking, and what a song this is. The whole song is a chorus, you see Isaac says (thru out the song) the same verse over and over again, think of it as a waterfall. It works though, somehow it never gets old, great song. Lounge (Closing Time), is a song that I could just fucking dance to all day long, a great melody!Im not going to explain the rest of the album, but it is nothing short of amazing indie rock. When i say amazing, i mean amazing, as in everyone should have this cd in their collection, songs like Shit Luck, Trailer Trash, Jesus Christ…, Truckers Atlas, and the last track is simply jaw-dropping, well fuck it, their all amazing, GET THE CD.