Dark Side of the Moon

...And Antarctica

Unless Epic Records decides to change the date again, a few weeks from now Modest Mouse will finally release their long-anticipated “Good News for People Who Love Bad News”. It’s been a long wait for fans that have known the band for years. And yet, it’s been not so long of a wait for the Mouse’s newer fans.
In the build up for this new album a whole new collective of fans have spawned off the fruits of their previous album, The Moon & Antarctica. Songs from ‘Antarctica’ have popped up everywhere, from beer commercials and skate videos to car advertisements.
Chances are, if you watch TV you’ve heard some of it.
Now, on the eve of their final release on the Epic label, Modest Mouse’s original powerhouse record gets a re-release. This time around however new packaging and a short BBC recording distinguish the album’s presence.
Why the band would feel compelled to rehash a product that was already so near to perfection is beyond me. If the sound is improved, I certainly haven’t noticed it. And the BBC recordings offer no revelatory glances into the embryonic stage of the album’s development. Rather, they merely show that even a year before it’s release, Isaac Brock had a clear definition of how he wanted ‘Antarctica’ to sound.
But I can say that the second I saw the new packaging peaking out at me from the Sam Goody CD rack, I was instantly compelled to buy it.
The cover is magnetic, utterly entrapping.
I gaze at the artwork and feel that this is the kind of cover that distinguishes itself as belonging next to other nebulous concept covers. It defines this album as a modern rock masterpiece that belongs in your collection even if you exclusively collect Britney Spears.
But fans have known that all along.
Since its release, it’s been one of the finest rock albums that an indie illumine could produce. ‘Antarctica’ is just one more claim that a band with underground roots can create something infinitely more majestic and beautiful then commercial music ever could.
This album reviles in the icy grip of post mortem. It hauntingly fantasizes about cheep motels and inner hells. In short, it’d bury you alive and get piss ass drunk on your very grave if given the chance.
Understandably, the motive behind this re-release is questionable. Now that everyone’s paying attention is Epic drawing a legend out of an already revered work? Or are they simply squeezing everything they can out of the Mouse before they loose this very hot commodity?
Whatever the motive, The Moon and Antarctica re-release should appeal to the band’s “newer” fans. Herein you will find the very heirs to the Radiohead crown. And it isn’t Coldplay.