|
reviews
|
opinions were like kittens i was giving them away. -modest mouse
there's nothing as something as one. -e. e. cummings
|
Interact
Discuss Modest Mouse and all of your favorite musicians and bands in our music forum/message board.
Have you heard this album? Give us your rating above, 5 being best.
The Lonesome Crowded West is an exemplary model
of
classic Modest Mouse. It is been stated to be the
album that defines the band. It represents all that
they stand for and proves to the music world that they
are more than just another indie rock band. Modest
Mouse not only does a magical job of writing symbolic
lyrics; they also weave a tapestry of interesting
tales. This stellar album is an effectively conceptual
album, expressing Brock's disapproval at the
ever-present onslaught of western society while
also exerting the psychological virtues of cutting
ties from loved ones and traveling forward into
unknown territories. Brock seems to have hit upon a
unique concept for this album by throwing everything
up into the air, leaving the occasional repeated
lyrics or image to bewilder and intrigue the listener.
The lyrics are poetic and emotionally provocative but
not for the easily offended. One thing is for sure
Modest Mouse's music is neither modest or mouse-like.
Track listing:
01 Teeth Like God's Shoeshine
02 Heart Cooks Brain
03 Convenient Parking
04 Lounge (Closing Time)
05 Jesus Christ Was an Only Child
06 Doin' the Cockroach
07 Cowboy Dan
08 Trailer Trash
09 Out of Gas
10 Long Distance Drunk
11 Shit Luck
12 Truckers Atlas
13 Polar Opposites
14 Bankrupt on Selling
15 Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice on Ice, Alright
|
The intense and powerful album first explodes with the
fast tempo of “Teeth Like God’s Shoeshine,” a quick
tune, which is riveting, inspiring, and
psychologically surprising. Next the album progresses
into “Heart Cooks Brain” which is an eclectic tune
with a pleasant rhythm and lyrics stating the “In this
life that we call home the years go so fast and the
days go so slow.” “Convenient Parking” which begins
low key, turns into a powerful chorus expressing the
pointlessness of living in today's crowded west with
lyrics stating “aren’t you feeling real dirty sitting
in your car with nothing.” “Lounge (Closing Time)” has
a fun, funky style combined with nice guitar and bass
accompaniment. It deals with the feeling of isolation
at closing time stating “I’m on the road to God don’t
know, my brain's the burger and my heart's the coal, it’s
closing time,” which, not coincidentally considering Isaac's penchant for repeating certain lines, is also stated in
“Heart Cooks Brain." “Jesus Christ Was An Only Child”
features an acoustic guitar and a fiddle tackling the
commercialization of religion rather bluntly. “Doin’
the Cockroach” is always a hit and coveted at any live
performances, judging from the crowds repeated pleas.
One poignant line that sticks out with me is “I was in
Heaven, I was in Hell, believe in neither but fear
them as well.” “Out of Gas” is an interesting track
with a soft intro. that kicks into a groovy chorus.
“Trucker's Atlas” could possibly be my favorite track
on the album, with its angular sound and Brock's angst-ridden voice it may be an acquired taste for some, but
for others this is indie-rock at its best.
Other wondrous highlights to the album are quality
songs that serve as a tribute to the poor working
class of today. “Cowboy Dan” has dynamic lyrics
stating “Every time you think you're walking you're just
moving the ground, Every time you think you're talking
your just moving your mouth, Every time you think you're
looking you're just looking down.” Another example of
this is “Trailer Trash” with a chorus stating “live
in trailers with no class, taking heartache with hard
work, Goddamn I am such a jerk, I can’t do anything”.
“Polar Opposites” is a lovable, almost poppy tune
exuding an emotional state dealing with the barren
plain of alcoholism and depression with lyrics such as
“I’m trying to drink away the part of the day that I
cannot sleep away.”
The Lonesome Crowded West is a record of indisputable
excellence and yet limitless frustrations. It is sheer
amazement that Brock manages to articulate all of
lifes major questions and difficulties in such an
insightful and thought provoking way. Sometimes
layered, sometimes raw, sometimes spastically refusing
to settle down, The Lonesome Crowded West is as
baffling as it is amazing. Modest Mouse deals with
ugly subjects and it does so effectively, with honesty
and enlightened understanding. Stylistically it can be
both coarse and difficult. The lyrics on within
display a wide variety of themes including anger,
shame, subservience, isolation, alcoholism, religious
confusion, commercialism, corruption, self-loathing,
and self-destruction. Somehow Isaac manages to grasp
these ideas and throw them altogether onto one paper
plate, stirred around with a plastic fork, and molded
into one man's abstract history lesson about the
downfall of western civilization.
-Christine Beals 12/29/03
|
|
