Capable of punkish rawness, simmering atmosphere, and light-hearted pop,
Modest Mouse shaped the sound of late-'90s indie rock and enjoyed mainstream success in the years that followed. On their early singles and albums like 1997's
The Lonesome Crowded West, they proved there was more to the Pacific Northwest underground than grunge. Coupled with
Isaac Brock's wild-eyed yelp and sketches of small-town life, their mix of emo, folk, post-rock and prog, won critical acclaim. Their major-label debut, 2000's moody, sprawling
The Moon and Antarctica, showed just how grandly ambitious their music could be, while 2005's platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated commercial breakthrough,
Good News for People Who Love Bad News, and its smash hit "Float On" revealed their flair for anthemic pop singles. On later albums like 2007's chart-topping
We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (which featured legendary guitarist
Johnny Marr) and 2021's
The Golden Casket,
Modest Mouse gave their music arena-sized proportions without sacrificing their idiosyncratic outlook.
Modest Mouse was founded in 1992 in Issaquah, Washington by guitarist and vocalist
Isaac Brock, bassist
Eric Judy, and drummer
Jeremiah Green.
Brock, who met
Judy while working at a local video store and
Green at a heavy metal concert, was only 18 and living in a shed next to his mother's trailer home when
Modest Mouse began working together. The shed became their rehearsal space and base of operations as they forged a nervy sound inspired by bands such as
Pixies,
XTC, and
Pavement. In 1994,
Modest Mouse recorded their debut 7", "Blue Cadet-3, Do You Connect?" at
Calvin Johnson's Dub Narcotic Studio in Olympia, Washington, and
Johnson released it on his K Records label later that year. Following the 1996 single "Broke," which was recorded with
Steve Wold (who found fame a few years later as grizzled blues hobo
Seasick Steve) and a few other short-form releases,
Modest Mouse signed with Up Records for their April 1996 debut album
This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About. Co-produced with
Wold, its tales of emotional and geographic isolation earned strong reviews.
The band reunited with
Johnson to make May 1997's EP
The Fruit That Ate Itself and that November's sophomore full-length
The Lonesome Crowded West (which also featured production by Scott Swayze). Adding more range and nuance as well as ecological and political themes to the band's music,
The Lonesome Crowded West earned more strong reviews and eventually became known as one of the era's definitive indie rock albums. The singles and rarities collection
Building Nothing Out of Something followed in 1999, and for their next album,
Modest Mouse moved from Up to Epic Records. Arriving in June 2000, the band's major label debut
The Moon and Antarctica was a dark, expansive effort that reflected
Brock's introspective state of mind as well as the band's five months working with
Califone's
Brian Deck at his Chicago studio. Along with critical acclaim, the album also found commercial success, reaching number 120 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and earning gold certification from the RIAA. In 2004, a remastered version of the album with different artwork and selections from a BBC Radio 1 session appeared.
Modest Mouse followed
The Moon and Antarctica's success with consistent touring and 2001's
Everywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks, a collection of demos and outtakes from the album's sessions. That year also saw the release of
Sad Sappy Sucker, a collection that included the band's first attempt at their debut album. The following year,
Brock released an album with his side project
Ugly Casanova. In 2003,
Green stepped away from the band, with
the Helio Sequence's
Benjamin Weikel becoming the group's temporary percussionist and keyboardist and
Murder City Devils'
Dann Gallucci -- who had been a guest guitarist on the sessions for
Sad Sappy Sucker and
The Lonesome Crowded West -- joining as an official band member. Both appeared on
Modest Mouse's next album, April 2004's
Good News for People Who Love Bad News. Recorded with
Dennis Herring at Oxford, Mississippi's Sweet Tea Studio, it was a more exuberant collection of songs that became the band's commercial breakthrough. A top 20 hit in the U.S. (where it was certified platinum) and a top 40 hit in the U.K., it spawned the hit singles "Float On" and "Ocean Breathes Salty" as the band began headlining arenas. In addition,
Good News for People Who Love Bad News was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, while "Float On" was nominated for Best Rock Song. Around the time of
Good News' release,
Modest Mouse also issued the live album
Baron Von Bullshit Rides Again.
By the end of 2004, Green returned to
Modest Mouse, and more lineup changes followed. After
Gallucci left the group in 2006, the band recruited
Johnny Marr to play guitar on their next album. Arriving in April 2007, the nautically themed
We Were Dead Before the Ship Sank was recorded at Sweet Tea Studio and Portland, Oregon's Audible Alchemy and also featured backing vocals by
the Shins'
James Mercer. The album debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 and was eventually certified gold in the U.S. and Canada.
Marr's involvement with the band included playing on the lengthy tour supporting
We Were Dead Before the Ship Sank; he departed to join
the Cribs, with
Jim Fairchild (who had worked with
Grandaddy and
All Smiles) stepping in on guitar by the time
Modest Mouse hit the road for August 2009's collection of outtakes and non-LP single sides,
No One's First, And You're Next. The band's cover of "That'll Be the Day" appeared on the 2011 tribute compilation
Rave on Buddy Holly, while their touring extended into 2012. That year saw the departure of
Judy and percussionist Joe Plummer; taking their places were former
Man Man member
Russell Higbee and Davey Brozowski. Percussionist
Ben Massarella, who performed on The Moon & Antarctica, and multi-instrumentalist/vocalist
Lisa Molinaro also joined the fold.
Modest Mouse's live dates kept them busy into 2014, and that year the band reissued
This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About and
The Lonesome Crowded West on
Brock's Glacial Pace label (which he named after his painstaking creative process). Work on the band's sixth album included the construction of their own Ice Cream Party studio, shelved collaborations with
Outkast's
Big Boi and
Nirvana's
Krist Novoselic, and the recording of two albums' worth of songs. Appearing in March 2015,
Strangers to Ourselves was a moody, sprawling effort that reached number three on the Billboard 200 in the U.S. and spawned the single "Lampshades on Fire," which topped the Alternative Airplay chart. In 2019, the band issued a trio of stand-alone singles, "Poison the Well," "I'm Still Here," and "Ice Cream Party," and toured with
the Black Keys. For June 2021's
The Golden Casket,
Modest Mouse recorded at Ice Cream Party and in Los Angeles with producers
Dave Sardy and
Jacknife Lee, opting for an electronic-tinged sound that reflected the more optimistic outlook on the themes of fatherhood, technology, and mortality they explored on
Strangers to Ourselves. Shortly before the album's release,
Fairchild and
Molinaro amicably left the band. ~ Heather Phares & Marcy Donelson