Exploring “An Eraser and A Maze”: Modest Mouse’s Newest Album
Via Modest Mouse Website
From track one all the way down to the closing song, Modest Mouse have managed to put out yet another no-fault record. Their newest album An Eraser and A Maze jumps from sound to sound, space to space, creating an environment in which the listener is ever-changing with the song that comes next. Their eighth studio album dives into self reflection and examines relationships, all while telling a story through the instrumentals and sounds that surround the lyrics.
Ahead of its full release, Modest Mouse put out three singles off the record, “Picking Dragons’ Pockets”, “Third Side of the Moon” and“Look How Far…”all of which showcase different styles that later appear throughout the entire project. When I first heard these releases, specifically the opening song “Picking Dragons’ Pockets”, I had high hopes for the rest of the songs on the track list. It felt like the perfect way to start out this endeavor into the world the band has created with this album. It’s fun and playful, and feels like the perfect mix of whimsy and dreamlike mixed with their signature sound— key combinations that reappear later on.
While track one was full of energy, that quickly changes as we transition into the next one. On “Remember Yourself” we enter one of the soft pockets of the album. Focused on the guitars and vocals, this song evokes a feeling of wistfulness, and leans into the idea of relationships and the self, a theme that seems to span the length of the record. When listening, all I could picture was a serene environment where it feels safe to think about legacies and death, and preemptively work through grief in a way. Isaac Brock sings, Sometime I’ll be dead and gone, sooner than I hope but I hope I’m wrong, Remember this when I’m gone, Remember yourself not me, almost as if he is guiding the listener on how to deal with the inevitable. These striking lyrics combined with the relatively stripped back sound, put the listener in a quiet, contemplative place, and beg them to think about who they are without the person they are losing.
From this intimate, delicate song, we transition right back into the full Modest Mouse swing of things with tracks like “Life’s A Dream” and “Look How Far”, bringing us back to that upbeat energized feeling the record started with. These songs specifically sound like the perfect ones to catch in a live performance. Just by listening you can already sense the crowd moving together and dancing for these.
The record continues this move between energies, shifting from the perfect festival song to bits of calm like the 27 second instrumental interlude that feels very dreamlike and ethereal, or even the song that comes directly after it, “I Can’t Talk Right Now” which continues this dream world by filling the background of the song with distinct noises. Sounds of rattling, shimmering audio effects, and distant voices move across the space, shifting positions back and forth, almost disorienting the listener in the best way possible. The mix of these sounds forces you to enter this alternate reality of the song that almost mimics what a digital space might be like. It recreates the feeling of messages being in limbo, similar to how people are connected through cyberspace but in no physical way, always sort of at a distance from one another. The instrumentals along with the details in the background help with the world building of the song, and bringing lyrics about communicating while being distant to life.
I have to highlight “Speak N’ Spell (Or Not)”, as I absolutely loved this one from the first listen. It felt a lot like some of the songs off of their album Good News For People Who Love Bad News, especially “The World At Large”, which is a personal favorite of mine. I love everything about this one, from the lyrics to the tone of the guitar to the way we slide from note to note, everything about this song was done beautifully. What sounds like a xylophone and its chimes in the background add a level of playfulness to the song that was unexpected but easy to love and appreciate.
The band do not limit themselves on this record, as we get tracks like “Dogbed In Heaven/Give It a Skeleton” the beginning of which has a folk, campfire feel to it, and “Rotten Fruit” where they play around with more electronic effects in the mix. “Song About Nothing” continues this exploratory route and feels very Nine Inch Nails/ The Matrix-esque. Even still, they managed to make these song work perfectly in the grand scheme of the record.
My favorite off the album, and perhaps joining the list of my all-time favorite songs by the band, is “Impossible Sundays”. This one felt personal and relatable, with Brock singing All of those impossible somedays, All of those impossible some days/ I’m just fine, but I can be impossible somedays, I’m just fine, but I can be impossible most days. It follows that theme of analyzing yourself and recognizing the habits and behaviors one has. It felt almost like an anthem, begging for the listener to think about their life and how they live it, and how it could be different. Oh It's not enough just being here or just simply being alive, Although nothing stays the same the whole time, Well everything is impossible if you don't even try to try, were some of my favorite lyrics from the whole record. While it seems like an obvious concept, sometimes its important to be reminded of the control we have over ourselves and our lives, and this song, and honestly the record as a whole, work to motivate and inspire contemplation on the things we do and how we can change.