Why Modest Mouse's Latest Album Is Unignorable For Me (and probably you too)
Nostalgia is a powerful motivator. I never would have thought I’d be this excited about a new Modest Mouse album, but nostalgia has a way of reeling me in and circumventing all human needs (such as sleep, which I should be getting right now).
Listening to “The Best Room,” Modest Mouse’s latest song they’ve released from their upcoming Strangers To Ourselves, I realize that nostalgia has probably been the key ingredient in my Modest Mouse obsession since the beginning. Modest Mouse has a very intimate way of taking me back. I’m sure some of that is just because they’ve been around since before I was even a fetus. But there’s more to it than the obvious, so just run with me on this.
There’s something just inherently reflective embedded in a Modest Mouse song, and much of that comes from the cohesive vision and sound that they’ve perfected over the years. Modest Mouse is a band that is just so unapologetically true to form that each song they release leads you to think about what you have held constant within yourself. In life, things are so very quick to change – often for good reason – but there is value in recognizing where you refuse to compromise.
Modest Mouse puts forth songs that set in stone a unique point in their conscious and allows them to coexist in a universe all their own, defined by their similarities. Their discography is one you can truly get lost in, as you time travel through their world and, consequently, your own. Throughout their career, they’ve crafted a journey with each subsequent record and that’s what makes a band great.
Modest Mouse’s discography maps out who they were, who they are, who they choose to be. From there, these records allow fans – at any age and at any time – to feel deeply connected to their history and their personalities. As time goes on, it is impossible not to feel nostalgically connected to them because their history has begun to intertwine with your own. The lines between pasts and presents blur so quickly as you listen to each song that comes on. Or perhaps my eyes are just blurring from exhaustion.
An hour has passed and I somehow moved from listening to the latest Modest Mouse release to the final songs of their 2000 release, Building Nothing Out of Something. Once the record ends and I type the final period on this post, I’ll remember all the work I need to accomplish, the new apartment I need to find, the money I need to earn, the emails I need to send. However, I cannot forget just how comforting it felt to spend an hour with Modest Mouse, looking at all the time that’s passed us by and looking forward to yet another album to fall into.
Until next time, nostalgia.