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27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just when I had about given up on contemporary rock..., July 13, 2000
The year two-thousand reminds me a lot of 1990. Various dance pop groups and a style of mainstream that has completely stangnated. Most of my interest with rock music has been waiting for the next Radiohead album. In spite of this I try to keeb tabs on the "indie-rock" culture, and pick up an occassional album I really enjoy. After seeing a couple of really favorable reviews of The Moon and Anarctica I decided to pick it up when released. My first impression was that it was very good but now it has become one of very few rock albums in the past five years which have earned near non-stop rotation in my CD player. Modest Mouse is one of a very selective group to successfully blend all of the streams for rock's leanings into post-modernism. Basically its clear to that this album stems from the indie scene but has grown to be a bit more well-rounded. There's a lot of Pixies pop-punk present but also a lot of Radiohead or Pink Floyd spaciness. A lot of the lyrics (which are brilliantly nonsensical) even have some kind of space theme going. Producer Brian Deck has done a magnificent job giving the songs an extremely detailed and dense sound while retaining the raw, bleeding, amateurish sound of the band. In the end what makes the album is a strong group of diverse sounding songs that are seamlessly brought together for a nice cohesive listen. Many of the songs feature delicate echoey guitar lines, while others are impressively visceral punk outings. Thrown in occassionally are odd supporting instruments like banjo or violin. The songs are complicated enough to take a bit of getting used to but hold on up for obsessive listening. Modest Mouse are all still in their early to mid-twenties and have substantial room to polish and complete their sound. Given that Moon and Antarctica is a near-masterpiece and my early pick for album of the year. Time to go check out the rest of their catalogue. Highly recommended for those who looking for freshness in their rock.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not so modest, July 4, 2000
Modest Mouse has signed with Epic, which has afforded the band to be not half as modest, at least not in studio time and production. Each song on this album is meticulously crafted and tweaked; there is not a track that avoids some post-production manipulation. In this sense the album parallels Radiohead's OK Computer to an extent, but that's where the similarities end. Whereas OK Computer is a massively overproduced (in the best possible way) album, The Moon and Antarctica appears to be less an album of self-indulgence and more a seized opportunity to explore new territory for the band. Isaac Brock's lyrics remain as dry and cynical as ever, while the musical arrangements appear to have opened up a great deal to incorporate more extensive use of the violin and bits and pieces of odd electronic effects. "The Stars Are Projectors" is the album's centerpiece, with its off-kilter arrangement and melancholy lyrics, but there are no real disappointments in the album as a whole, whereas past releases often proved to be more on the hit-or-miss side. Highly recommended, despite any reservations of the band joining the major label playing field.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Drifty and surreal..., April 4, 2005
"The Moon & Antarctica", although not Modest Mouse's most accessible album, is definitely their best work, and proof that signing on to a major label doesn't ALWAYS mean that something bad is about to happen (although it usually does...*grumble* ¬.¬).
First off, this album has little in common with the band's other efforts; this one is far more atmospheric and has more of a Radiohead/Pink Floyd influence instead of The Pixies influence of some of their other songs. Most of the anger and frustration from the Lonesome Crowded West is gone, and replaced with a subdued, icy, beautiful mood that stretches over many of the songs.
The Moon & Antarctica is at it's best during it's spaciest, driftiest moments, which can be found on the GORGEOUS, floating, overlapping guitar layers of "Gravity Rides Everything" (the perfect songs to play while watching the moon rise in the evening sky), the simple, raindrop-like acoustic flutters on "Perfect Disguise", the jaw dropping, shape-shifting 9 minute epic "The Stars Are Projectors" (which could very well explain all of existence), and the equally brilliant shapeshifter "Life Like Weeds".
As usual, Modest Mouse's lyrics are nothing short of absolutely stunning; the day I find a band that can top profound statements like "God is a woman, the woman is an animal, the animal is a man, and that's you" or "Was there a need for creation that was hidden in a math equation that asks this: Where do circles begin?" is the day I saw my ears off and stop listening to music (which I assure you isn't anytime soon). This could very easily be seen as a concept album about life, death, existence, religion, and the way the universe works.
Many people say that this album is as good as "OK Computer" in terms of life-changing albums; They don't say that for no reason. Reccomended for anyone who can handle weighty subject matter and equally hypnotic soundscapes to match it.
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