Strangers to Ourselves Modest Mouse

• 1 Strangers to Ourselves 03:24
• 2 Lampshades On Fire 03:08
• 3 Shit in Your Cut 04:44
• 4 Pistol (A. Cunanan, Miami, FL. 1996) 03:42
• 5 Ansel 02:56
• 6 The Ground Walks, with Time in a Box 06:12
• 7 Coyotes 03:31
• 8 Pups to Dust 03:30
• 9 Sugar Boats 04:03
• 10 Wicked Campaign 03:34
• 11 Be Brave 03:31
• 12 God is an Indian and You're an Asshole 01:17
• 13 The Tortoise and the Tourist 03:41
• 14 The Best Room 04:25
• 15 Of Course We Know 05:21
• Total Runtime 56:59

Info for Strangers to Ourselves

Perhaps the success of 'Float On' discombobulated Isaac Brock even more than we suspected. Surely, there were signs of aimlessness on We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, the 2007 sequel to the surprise 2004 smash Good News for People Who Love Bad News, a record where hired gun Johnny Marr was brought aboard to give the band a jolt.

This booster shot wore off quickly and Brock receded from the spotlight, sitting out the better part of a decade before re-emerging with Strangers to Ourselves in the spring of 2015. In the interim, he shed longterm collaborator Eric Judy -- he left sometime around 2012, replaced by Russell Higbee -- added guitarist Jim Fairchild and auxiliary player Lisa Molinaro, attempted to record an album with Big Boi, toyed with bringing Krist Novoselic aboard, then decided to get back to where he once belonged. Brock's return to roots is naturally a roundabout of detours, a record that bounces between stylized eccentricity and streamlined strangeness, stopping occasionally to soak in a scenic, dreamy view. Strangers to Ourselves starts at this hazy point, swooning with a narcotic sway that recalls peak Mercury Rev but it's not long before Modest Mouse begins bouncing at a syncopation that recalls 'Float On,' just one of many deliberate references to the ghosts of alt-rock past haunting Strangers to Ourselves. 'Pistol' skeeves out like a disco-fied outtake from Ween's Pure Guava, the carnivalesque 'Sugar Boats' lurches forward on a circus piano reminiscent of Blur, 'The Best Room' circles around a guitar riff that echoes Space Ghost Coast to Coast, each a signal that Brock is comfortable keeping the dream of the '90s.

The trick is, he now has the skill of a consummate craftsman, so the raggedness here comes across as deliberate, probably because the moments that are less consciously quirky -- i.e., the bulk of the album -- are so skillfully constructed. So, Strangers to Ourselves is an album where the trees matter more than the forest: song for song, it demonstrates the exacting nature of Brock but put it all together, it sprawls.“ (Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

Isaac Brock, vocals, guitars, banjo, keyboards
Tom Peloso, upright bass, trumpet, keyboards, fiddle
Jim Fairchild, guitars, vocals
Lisa Molinaro, viola, keyboards
Russell Higbee, bass
Jeremiah Green, drums, percussion

Modest Mouse
was formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington and over the last decade has become the indie rock standard and one of the few bands capable of treading the narrow path where massive popularity is possible without sacrificing their longtime fans.

The band released their first full-length album, This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About, on the Up label in 1996. With the release of their second album, The Lonesome Crowded West in 1997, the band’s status reached new heights with a legion of fans and critical acclaim. In 2000, Modest Mouse was signed to Epic Records and released their third album, The Moon & Antarctica. In 2004 came the release of their breakthrough album, Good News For People Who Love Bad News, which included the hit “Float On,” has sold over 1.5 million copies and earned the band two Grammy nominations.

The most recent Modest Mouse album, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, was released on March 20, 2007 and immediately entered the Billboard Top 200 chart at #1. On August 4th, 2009 Modest Mouse released a special EP, No One’s First, And You’re Next. This new EP contains eight songs, six of which were released as limited edition 7” vinyl singles. Also included on the EP is ‘King Rat’ which was a limited promo-only 7” single free with the purchase of We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank in 2007 and ‘I’ve Got It All (Most)’ which was the b-side to the ‘Float On’ single in 2004 and is currently out of print. No One’s First, And You’re Next debuted at #15 on the Billboard Top 200 and was the #2 Digital Album.

Simultaneous to the EP release, Modest Mouse released the highly anticipated Heath Ledger directed video for ‘King Rat,” a track also included on the No One’s First, And You’re Next EP.

This album contains no booklet.