Album Review: Modest Mouse - 'An Eraser and a Maze'
Modest Mouse return with ‘An Eraser and a Maze’, their first album since 2021’s ‘The Golden Casket’. Thirty years on from their debut, Isaac Brock and company are less interested in marking milestones than in dealing with time as it passes.
Opening track ‘Picking Dragons' Pockets’ immediately feels like a return to form. Driven by a huge chorus and jagged, memorable riffs, it recaptures the restless energy that made Modest Mouse so compelling in the first place and offers an optimistic glimpse of the path the band have chosen for this new chapter. As the band's first fully independent release since 1997, ‘An Eraser and a Maze’ feels refreshingly unconcerned with expectations. That frenetic energy gives way to the far more restrained ‘Remember Yourself Not Me’, where acoustic guitar and subtle percussion provide a delicate backdrop for Isaac's reflections on legacy, remembrance and what we leave behind. It's one of the album's most intimate moments, stripping away the noise to focus on its emotional core.
Already a live favourite, ‘Life's a Dream’ stands among the album's strongest tracks. Its swirling synths and atmospheric textures evoke some of the band's moodier late-'90s material while perfectly encapsulating the themes of mortality and memory that define the record. Those themes inevitably carry extra weight as the band's first release following the death of co-founding drummer Jeremiah Green. Isaac summarises the album's emotional centre in the press notes for the track with a simple statement: "People pass through, people pass on. Remember yourself."
‘Third Side of the Moon’ continues in a similarly reflective vein. Building gradually from sparse beginnings into an emotionally powerful climax, the song captures the complicated nature of grief and remembrance. As Isaac wrestles with the realisation that he may not have paid enough attention to someone before they were gone, it becomes one of the album's most affecting moments, balancing sorrow, regret and gratitude in equal measure. Released through Isaac’s Glacial Pace Recordings, An Eraser and a Maze finds Modest Mouse looking both backwards and forwards at once. It's an album shaped by loss but never defined by it, finding meaning in memory while still embracing the strange, unpredictable spirit that has carried the band through three decades.
‘Dogbed in Heaven' begins with a deceptively simple arrangement, but in true Modest Mouse fashion there's an unease bubbling beneath the surface. Off-kilter percussion and subtle rhythmic flourishes give the track the discordance the band have long made their own. One moment, Isaac is mournfully contemplating heaven and wondering whether he'll be missed when he's gone; the next, scuzzy synths and a pulsing bassline surge in as the song gives way to the more energetic ‘Give It a Skeleton’.
Following a brief instrumental interlude, ‘I Can't Talk Right Now’ slowly rebuilds momentum through layered percussion, shimmering synths and Isaac’s hushed, almost weary vocals. ‘Speak and Spell’ follows with a sharp guitar hook and infectious chorus that recalls some of the band's most anthemic moments, while ‘Rotten Fruit’ stands out thanks to its wiry guitar lines and rough-edged intensity. The track reaches another level when producer Justin Raisen's vocals intertwine with Isaac’s during the bridge, adding an extra layer of tension to its frayed atmosphere.
Clocking in at just over a minute, the short but effective ‘Knocked Down by Waves’ offers a brief moment of respite before ‘Absolutely Necessary Never’ bursts to life. Built around synths that evoke classic '80s synth-pop, the track balances nostalgia with Modest Mouse's trademark eccentricity. Replacing "never" with "maybe", its melodic chorus carries a sly sense of humour, while Isaac’s low, world-weary delivery is punctuated by sharp bursts of guitar.
Modest Mouse have never been a conventional band, and the closing stretch of ‘Song About Nothing’ and ‘Stoner Party’ serves as a reminder of that. Powered by driving instrumentation and Isaac's increasingly impassioned delivery, the former revolves around the tongue-in-cheek refrain, "this is a song about nothing, sing along", turning a deliberately absurd premise into something infectious. The latter barely lasts 35 seconds, yet still packs in chiming guitars, a steady beat and overlapping spoken-word fragments about partying and rock and roll. It's strange, chaotic and slightly ridiculous - in other words, quintessential Modest Mouse.
We're already familiar with the bite-sized ‘Look How Far’, which was introduced as the album's lead single. While ‘An Eraser and a Maze’ contains some of the most polished production of Modest Mouse's career, it balances that sheen with moments that reconnect with the band's scrappier roots, and ‘Look How Far’ is one of the strongest examples. Driven by frantic guitar work and Russell Higbee's slippery bassline, it's a short, sharp burst of energy that feels distinctly old-school Modest Mouse. The same can be said of closing track ‘Impossible Somedays’, another showcase for Russell’s effortlessly groovy bass playing. Built around an infectious indie-rock groove that contrasts beautifully with its vulnerable reflections on human imperfection, the song serves as a fitting finale. Equal parts raw and forward-looking, it's one of the album's standout moments and a strong example of how ‘An Eraser and a Maze’ successfully balances the band's trademark rough edges with renewed vitality.
Five years after ‘The Golden Casket’, ‘An Eraser and a Maze’ confirms Modest Mouse still know how to make the wait worthwhile. It nods to the raw, fractured energy of their early records while sounding focused and forward-looking, shaped by experience rather than nostalgia. The result feels rooted in their past but quietly refreshed, reaffirming their place as one of indie rock’s most distinctive long-running bands. With a major US tour ahead, the band’s next chapter is clearly in motion, and hopefully it brings them back to the UK soon.
Words by Laura Dean
