Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West

Label: Up
Year: 1997
Genre: Indie Rock, Experimental Rock
Recommending Person: Ryan Sullivan

I like Modest Mouse. I understand others are not the biggest fans of them. The lead singer has an affected voice that sounds like a whinier Violent Femmes lead singer, that's hard to do.

This album is an example of why people dislike the band. There is no great melody throughout the album, it's a disjointed way to get his thoughts out into the world. The lyrics themselves are pretty enjoyable, if a bit angsty, but the mechanism to get them to your ears are a bit disappointing. I like their debut album and later albums much more than this individual album. The record reads better as a poetry book than as a piece of music. I will perform it at a poetry slam.