The The Moon & Antarctica [LP]

by Modest Mouse

Overview

Modest Mouse's Epic debut, The Moon & Antarctica, finds them strangely subdued, focusing on mortality as well as the moody, acoustic side of their music and downplaying the edgy rock that helped make them indie stars. Not that their first major-label release sounds like a sellout -- actually, the slight sheen of Brian Deck's production enhances the album's introspective tone -- but occasionally The Moon & Antarctica's melancholy becomes ponderous. Unfortunately, the album's middle stretch contains three such songs, "The Cold Part," "Alone Down There," and "The Stars Are Projectors," which tend to blur together into one 17-minute-long piece that bogs down the album's momentum. Individually, each of these songs is sweeping and haunting in its own right, but grouping them together blunts their impact. However, this trilogy does provide a sharp contrast to, as well as a bridge across, The Moon & Antarctica's more vibrant beginning and end. Though it explores death and the afterlife, The Moon & Antarctica's liveliest moments are its most effective. "3rd Planet"'s simple, ramshackle melody and strange, moving lyrics ("Your heart felt good"), the elastic guitars on "Gravity Rides Everything," and the angular, jumpy "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes" and "A Different City" get the album off to a strong start, while the fresh, unaffected "Wild Packs of Family Dogs," "Paper Thin Walls," and "Lives" bring it to an atmospheric, affecting peak before "What People Are Made Of" closes the album with a climactic burst of noise. Their most cohesive collection of songs to date, The Moon & Antarctica is an impressive, if flawed, map of Modest Mouse's ambitions and fears. ~ Heather Phares

Product Details

Release Date:	04/17/2010
Label:	Epic / Legacy
UPC:	0886976615611
Rank:	4406

Tracks

Disc 1

1. 3rd Planet
2. Gravity Rides Everything
3. Dark Center of the Universe
4. Perfect Disguise
5. Tiny Cities Made of Ashes
6. A Different City
7. The Cold Part
8. Alone Down There

Disc 2

9. The Stars Are Projectors
10. Wild Packs of Family Dogs
11. Paper Thin Walls
12. I Came As a Rat
13. Lives
14. Life Like Weeds
15. What People Are Made of

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Modest Mouse   Primary Artist
Isaac Brock   Guitar,Vocals
Jeremiah Green   Drums
Brian Deck   Keyboards
Ben Massarella   Percussion
Eric Judy   Bass
Tim Rutili   Vocals (Background)
Greg Ratajczak   Guitar
Chiyoko Yoshida   Vocals (Background)
Jeff Kennedy   Violin
Ben Blankenship   Banjo,Guitar,Keyboards,Lap Steel Guitar
Tyler Riley   Violin,Lap Steel Guitar
Tim Rutill   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Isaac Brock   Composer,Photography
Dennis Herring   Remastering Supervisor
Jeremiah Green   Composer,Photography
Phil Ek   Engineer
Modest Mouse   Composer
Matt Marshall   A&R
Brian Deck   Mixing,Producer,Drum Programming
Eric Judy   Composer,Photography
Howie Weinberg   Remastering
Greg Ratajczak   Assistant
Mary Maurer   Art Direction
Monster X   Design
Simon Labalestier   Cover Photo,Photography