Modest Mouse - This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About (Album Review)

 

Modest Mouse - This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About

(1996)

My copies: 2014 reissue by Glacial Pace and 2018 limited reissue on pink vinyl by Glacial Pace.

Sad Sappy Sucker was originally intended to be the debut Modest Mouse full length, but the record was shelved in favor of the much more expansive and conceptual This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About. Not quite post-hardcore and not quite emo, Modest Mouse were able to carve a name for themselves by combining the ferocity of the former with the lyrical sincerity of the latter. 

“Dramamine” was an instant favorite upon release; it perfectly encapsulates emotional destitution with a spiraling repetitive bassline and drowsy harmonics. Jeremiah Green’s shuffle beat propels the track like an eighteen-wheeler barreling down a bumpy stretch of desert highway. There are moments of aggressive post-hardcore where the guitar tones borrow from Lync, Built To Spill and occasionally Unwound. “Breakthrough,” “Ionizes And Atomizes,” “Head South” and “Tundra/Desert” are the particularly aggravated songs, with “Tundra/Desert” being most notable for its change in tempo, blistering dance beat and noise-rock guitar bursts. 

“Custom Concern” is a gentle lamentation for blue-collar workers, with an extended outro featuring cello. “Might” is like a crazed version of Built To Spill, with galloping guitars that are just sloppy enough to set them apart. Brock’s vocals are not unlike Doug Martsch’s higher-pitched whines, but Brock’s lisp, forward lyricism and rabid delivery provide him with an oddly personable edge. Slight jazz influence creeps into the seductive rhythms of “Lounge” before the song descends into another slowcore outro with cello. Perhaps the album's greatest flaw is simply stretching good ideas for too long, as the record is nearly an hour and a half of music.  

“Beach-Side Property” is a contender for the best Modest Mouse song with its ability to seamlessly marry unhinged aggression to bright, major progressions. Modest Mouse seem to have a knack for capturing the spirit of manic depression: the sunny chords are not overly optimistic, rather they have a sarcasticly happy energy that comes largely due to Brock’s open-mouthed belting. Many songs, “Beach-Side Property” included, then collapse into minor reflections, with Brock singing in earnest. Lyrics range from disillusionment with westward expansion to mental illness. 

Some songs provide a simpler fusion of indie-rock and emo, with “Novocain Stain,” “Talking Shit About A Pretty Sunset,” “Make Everyone Happy/Mechanical Birds,” and “Edit The Sad Parts” being the biggest examples of this. “Ohio” is another massive highlight for its uncompromising sense of momentum, with guitars and bass cascading around Brock’s emotional deluge, eventually becoming stilted and repressed before returning to the chorus. “Space Travel Is Boring” is a fun anti-drug song that adds synth and/or modified guitar. 

“A Manic Depressive Named Laughing Boy” is a new closer that rounds out the vinyl release only with paranoid bass and guitar lines. The lyrics are good but the vocal presence is short lived, leaving the song to fade away without making a major impression. 

This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About is the sound of restless unhappiness: the lyrics combine the agony of broken relationships with eulogies for nature in its losing struggle against consumer expansion. The instrumentals, while underproduced, reflect the cold ambiance of traveling through the northwest. The guitars crackle and bend while Green’s drumming creatively maintains order. The bass lines tie the mood of each track together neatly, though the lack of low end is a serious let down. There are times where things spiral out of control, linger too long or suffer from being a tad obnoxious, but there is something special about how emotionally informal and honest this debut record is.