This came out in 2001 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
One great thing about indie bands is that they often release more music — singles, EPs, albums, anything to pay the bills — than major-label acts who put out a CD every three years. Then there’s Washington noisy indie-rock trio Modest Mouse.
They signed a major-label deal last year, but they’re apparently still clinging to their indie-rock approach. Barely a year after their last album, here’s a sorta-new eight-song EP. Four songs are from an indie EP they put out last year, three songs are new, and one is a remix of stuff from their last album. All feature the band’s drifting, wispy melodies, softly angular rhythmic frameworks and hypnotic wordplay (“You’re hopelessly hopeful, I hope so”). It’s everywhere you want to be.
