Modest Mouse - Strangers to Ourselves

And from first single ‘Lampshades On Fire’ it’s clear that ‘Strangers to Ourselves’ isn’t going to deviate from the winning formula (though there are also worrying hints of Chilli Peppers too). It takes ‘Float On’ and ‘Dashboards’ anthemics and that yelp-shout and melds it into something that seems too familiar.

But the album works through a lot more ideas than that. It’s long – a 15 song double LP – but that means it takes you through some sonic side streets you might not have exactly expected. The first half especially is full of the brilliantly off-kilter swagger that makes Modest Mouse so great – brilliantly combining the frantic and the mellow. On ‘Pistol’ Brock does a weird voice robo-funk sexy singing ‘I was up all night not ready for the meaning, oh no’. It sounds vaguely like Vic Reeves doing a club singer version of a Justin Timberlake song (and by that I mean it’s amazing). The steel drum and strutting guitar of ‘Ansel’ is classic Modest Mouse (with classic Modest Mouse lyrics thrown in too: “You can’t know what you can never really know, would you ever want to know? How the hell would you know?”). By the time the upbeat brass stomp of ‘The Ground Walks, with Time in a Box’ with Brock singing ‘We’re gonna throw a party’ has us dancing on tables, the beautiful ‘Coyote’ (their equivalent of a power ballad) and ‘Pups To Dust’ feel like a welcome breather.

The second half seems to sag slightly after ‘Wicked Campaign’s’ shimmering sunset synths. ‘Be Brave’ is too overblown while ‘God Is an Indian and You’re an Asshole’ is a title that could never be bettered musically and it doesn’t try – it’s more a kind of skit in the middle of the album. Yet it finishes with ‘Of Course’, maybe one of the best things they’ve ever written. It’s a darkly shimmering anthem, heavy drums merging with piano that twinkles like stars as Brock sings ‘of course we don’t know what we’re here for’ and spectral backing vocals.

Lyrically it brings the album together – Brock’s concerns with not knowing, his homespun wisdom and constant mentions of ghosts, of making a mess of things and making amends. Throughout there’s uncertainty but a shining sense of hope. And on ‘Shit In Your Cut’ he sings about having to “ride this winter out.” There are tough times sure, but there’s always something new on the horizon. ‘Strangers to Ourselves’ might have been a long time in the making but listening to it, it doesn’t feel like it has – and that’s a good thing. It’s bruised and brilliant, idiosyncratic and anthemic, sloppy and heartfelt. It’s an album only Modest Mouse could make.

Tags: Modest Mouse, Reviews, Album Reviews