Album Info

Expanding Anyway

Indie Rock - 2014

If Modest Mouse were a loose-jointed, spastic psych band rather than a tightly coiled indie rock outfit, it might have... more

Tracklist

1

Boom Puma

5:26 min
2

Eyes the Same

3:13 min
3

Snow Frog vs. Motor Cobra

5:52 min
4

Expanding Anyway

3:41 min
5

Crystalline

5:12 min
6

Daydream Electric Storm

2:14 min
7

Wholehearted Drifting Sense of Inertia

9:00 min
8

Just a Figment

6:27 min
9

Foreign Plane

4:42 min
10

Cold Weather Sunshine

1:39 min
11

Banjo Disco

4:25 min
12

Treble Chair

6:25 min

About Expanding Anyway

If Modest Mouse were a loose-jointed, spastic psych band rather than a tightly coiled indie rock outfit, it might have gone down the dayglo-colored path of Morning Teleportation, a group formed in Bowling Green, Ky., in 2005. The bands share a knack for martial backbeats and strongly punctuated change-ups and choruses, and both have vocalists of a certain timbre. That said, their differences are notable, with MT distilling a wide range of sounds into well-controlled chaos. There are ‘70s-damaged synth riffs, peppy horns, imitation-funk keyboards, and fairly histrionic guitars neatly delivering Tiger Merritt’s pleasing yelp and catchy choruses. Some tunes, like the unhinged “Boom Puma,” veer straight into garage rock territory, while songs like “Snow Frog vs. Motor Cobra” blend a hippie-psych vibe with garage for some nifty head-expanding. Mostly, MT is best represented by tracks like “Eyes the Same” and “Expanding Anyway”: tight three- and four-minute rock songs that cover a ridiculous amount of ground with surprising dexterity, then lure listeners back to pummel all those ideas into our heads just one . . . more . . . time. Terrific.