The Lonesome Crowded West
by Modest Mouse

On this album, Isaac Brock manages to sound more pissed off than any punk or metal singer could ever dream of. He's sick of seeing patches of forest being destroyed to build yet another subdivision, sick of seeing Walmart after Walmart putting mom and pop stores out of business, sick of all the pointless urbanization eating the heart out of many of America's small towns. In the midst of all of this anger, Brock also displays a lot of vulnerability, particularly in Trailer Trash, which seems to be about nostalgia for a childhood that, in all honesty, really wasn't that great. Even in Cowboy Dan, a song that for the most part seems to have the speaker trying to keep his barely-contained rage from boiling over, there's a piece in the middle where a hazy childhood memory temporarily distracts the speaker from his ranting. The entire album is loose and all over the place but still manages to be incredibly consistent, with nearly every song being excellent, the other songs being good enough to hold you until a better one comes along. This album is definitely one of my favorites, I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys alternative/indie rock.

From craola 11/07/2013 23:09 | #91121 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

That stretch of songs from Doin' the Cockroach to Cowboy Dan and Trailer Trash is about as close to ecstasy as you can get for your ears. Bankrupt on Selling is quite a piece of work too. Highly recommended listening.

Fantastic album. It's a very raw and emotional album with consistent songwriting. The music is twangy and quirky but it's somewhat enjoyable once you get used to it. I would agree with many other people that it's a very long album and it drags on quite a bit, but the standout tracks make me forget about how long this album is. A classic of the late 90's

From Mr. Shankly TOP 100 COMMENTER 09/12/2011 13:03 | #27395 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Some of Isaak Brock's best songs are on this record and this album marked their indie level zenith. Now for the criticism: I feel there are two many songs on this album and they often go on for too long. Cowboy Dan suffers from this, so does the directionless, Out of Gas and Long Distance Drunk. Many of the songs end in long meandering jams that rarely transcend,they just kind of hang around and stare at their shoes(with the exception of Trailer Trash). Modest Mouse doesn't have the musical chops (with the exception of the drummer) to try to play extended jams that hold the attention of the listener. Looking at subsequent albums, I think they probably figured this out. I'm probably in the minority in that I think Modest Mouse actually got better (more polished) after they signed to a major label.

From NubbinBased 02/07/2013 04:16 | #64315 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

I don't come across "perfect" albums very often. Much better than The Moon and Antarctica.