The Lonesome Crowded West
by Modest Mouse
- Type: Album
- Released: November 18, 1997
- Label: Up
- Country: United States
- Length: 1:13:50
- Community rating: 4.4/5 from 28 ratings
Artists on this release: Jeremiah Green, Isaac Brock, Eric Judy
Album Notes & Community Reviews
Considered the band's breakthrough, 'The Lonesome Crowded West' is a sprawling indie-rock work that uses a stylistically diverse sonic palette to explore themes of urbanization, desolate American landscapes, and spiritual disillusionment. Produced by Calvin Johnson, the album's lengthy tracks often shift between aggressive, thrashing post-punk and quieter, more contemplative passages, all underscored by Isaac Brock's cynical and raw lyrical delivery. The recording's varied instrumentation, which includes fiddles, turntables, and acoustic arrangements, complements its status as a landmark album of the 1990s.
Genres
Descriptors: intricate, talk-singing, lo-fi, literate, suburban
Tracklist
- Teeth Like God's Shoeshine (06:53)
- Heart Cooks Brain (04:02)
- Convenient Parking (04:08)
- Lounge (Closing Time) (07:03)
- Jesus Christ Was An Only Child (02:36)
- Doin' The Cockroach (04:18)
- Cowboy Dan (06:14)
- Trailer Trash (05:49)
- Out Of Gas (02:31)
- Long Distance Drunk (03:42)
- Shit Luck (02:22)
- Truckers Atlas (10:57)
- Polar Opposites (03:29)
- Bankrupt On Selling (02:53)
- Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice On Ice, Alright (06:53)
Credits
- Isaac Brock - guitars, vocals, produced, other photos
- Jeremiah Green - drums
- Eric Judy - bass
- DJ K.O. - phonogram player, k-ep 63 on "heart cooks brain"
- Dann Gallucci - guitar on "trailer trash" and "bankrupt on selling"
- Tyler Reilly - fiddle on "jesus christ was an only child"
- Scott Swayze - guitar on "convenient parking" and "lounge (closing time)", produced, engineered
- Nicole Johnson - vocals
- Chris Setton - vocals on "lounge (closing time)"
- Calvin Johnson - produced
- Phil Ek - engineered
- Pat Graham - snow photos
- Pat Castaldo - cover design
- Brian Weber - bartender