Modest Mouse, The Moon & Antarctica (Sony/Epic)
For years Modest Mouse has been relegated to tha indie rock ghetto of bands with "potential." Their first couple albums were a hasty patchwork of influences, from Pavement to Polvo, Built To Spill to Sonic Youth. Enjoyable, but not worth reserving a spot in your crowded CD case for. This is a rare case where a major label deal actually breathed new life into a band. The Issaquah, Washington trio's third full length, The Moon & Antarctica elevates their normally self-effacing working-class indie aesthetic to truly epic heights. "3rd Planet" sets the album with the mantra, "The universe is shaped exactly like the earth if you go straight long enough you'll end up where you were." The general mood is at once neurotic, and expansive. Produced by Red Red Meat's Brian Deck, there are no concessions to conforming to radio standards of overly compressed sound. Remember when records used to be popular, but didn't all sound the same? Of course you don't, that was 1966. Not to say the album doesn't sound thoroughly modern. The styles vary wildly, from string-bending open-tuned rockers to Beckadelic poppers and string-laden bombast, all held together by Isaac Brock's abstract tales of movement, isolation and disorientation, probably a result from the band's heavy touring schedule. What doesn't kill ya makes you stronger, as evidenced on the scintillating Beefheart gem "Tiny Cities Made Of Ashes" and the dramatic "A Different City," which kicks up as much guitar-hero excitement as London Calling era Clash or Sonic Youth at their late-eighties peak. "The Cold Part" is a glacial stunner that continues the hot streak with hypnotic atmospherics and circular lyrics. Not even halfway through the album, you still have the anthemic "The Stars Are Projectors" which clocks in at 8:46 and miles of wonderfully varied guitar textures and catchy melodies. Modest Mouse are no longer a band to watch -- they have arrived.
