Enjoy the trappings of Modest Mouse

Spencer Patterson

Friday, June 17, 2005 | 8:26 a.m.

The way the music press fawned over Modest Mouse last year, you'd have thought the Washington state-based outfit was a brand-new band, fresh-faced and wide-eyed.

Far from it, Modest Mouse had been churning out its unique brand of indie rock for more than a decade when single "Float On" became one of the surprise hits of 2004.

But don't take my word for it. Check out some of the trio's material from the 1990s -- namely 1997's "The Lonesome Crowded West" -- and hear the group's early greatness for yourself.

That sophomore album earned Modest Mouse a major-label deal with Sony/Epic after a reported bidding war, and its 15 tracks still sound as fresh as they did the day the disc was released.

Opening cut "Teeth Like God's Shoeshine" sets the tone perfectly, opening with aggressive, in-your-face heaviness before transitioning into something altogether haunting and melodic.

Modest Mouse follows that formula throughout "The Lonesome Crowded West," pasting dissimilar chunks of music together to produce a strangely cohesive collage.

"Lounge (Closing Time)" is one great example. Early on, frontman Isaac Brock delivers hurried lines with his trademark speak-sing delivery. Then, the band finds a sweet-sounding instrumental groove and settles in for a bit. And finally, the tune closes as a foreboding dirge which could scarcely be more different from the intro.

The glorious "Doin' the Cockroach" works in reverse. Brock's voice and guitar sound sinister to start, before the group works itself into a frenzy, producing riffs you'll still be humming hours after listening.

Even when Modest Mouse bucks that cut-and-paste recipe for success, the results can be exquisite. Case in point: the turntable scratch-aided "Heart Cooks Brain" or uber-creepy anthem "Cowboy Dan," a tune about a "major player in the cowboy scene" who "goes to the reservation, drinks and gets mean."

A few more lyrics from the latter: "He hops in his pickup, puts the pedal to the floor / And says, 'I got mine but I want more.' / ... He goes to the desert, fires his rifle in the sky / And says, 'God, if I have to die you will have to die.' "

Intense stuff, to be sure, and probably not what most "Float On" fans would expect to hear. But hear it they should, to determine if they really like Modest Mouse or just flipped for the band's big video hit.

Artist: Modest Mouse.

Title: "The Lonesome Crowded West."

Year of release: 1997 (Up Records).

Tracklisting: "Teeth Like God's Shoeshine," "Heart Cooks Brain," "Convenient Parking," "Lounge (Closing Time)," "Jesus Christ Was an Only Child," "Doin' the Cockroach," "Cowboy Dan," "Trailer Trash," "Out of Gas," "Long Distance Drunk," "S--- Luck," "Truckers Atlas," "Polar Opposites," "Bankrupt on Selling," "Styrofoam Boots / It's All Nice on Ice, Alright."