This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About

Modest Mouse is my favorite indie rock band, but maybe that's not saying much, since I don't listen to a lot of indie rock. So much of it is bland and indistinguishable from the rest, but Modest Mouse stands out. "Custom Concern" is the highlight here, one of my favorite MM tracks. When I leave the house for work every morning, I sing quietly to myself, "gotta go to work, gotta go to work, gotta have a job." Though my life isn't bleak like the one described in the song, still... it sucks to go to work. The slow percussion, the off-balance crescendo--disconcertingly beautiful. One of MM's hallmarks is their ability to perfectly juggle tempo changes and intensity shifts, breaking songs up into unofficial sections. I love that about them. And I love that slight lisp. There are string bends all over this, as numerous as the truck stops you pass on your long drive to nowhere.

There are several reasons I can't give This Is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About (from this point on known as "the album") more than 3.5 stars.

First off, the album crumbles under its own weight. It goes for 74 minutes, while it could have easily been trimmed to 60, or even 50 minutes, but you lose 80% of pointless noodling.

Second, starting an album with your high point, i.e Dramamine, really makes the rest of the album feel like a cold pizza slice. Sure it's pizza, and it's good, but it could've been better.

Third point I want to make is that Isaac's vocals get a bit annoying because of the length. It's not THAT big of a deal, and I get that his style of approach has its audience. It is pretty much a style of delivery that's a characteristic of midwest emo, and it does have its moments where it shines, just that there are parts where the vocals make me laugh and some make me want to punch a hole in the wall (maybe it's an intended effect?).

With all the things said, you can still make a counter-argument to every point I made. Sure it's noodling, and it drags on, but some of the songs benefit highly from having an extended instrumental passage. Even though it starts with its peak, there are still some songs that almost get to the high point set by Dramamine. And to build on that, Isaac's vocals hit hard at some points, pouring out all that raw emotion really gives a boost to otherwise meh songs.

All in all, give it a listen if you want to give Modest Mouse a shot. You just might like it.