You can take your “Float On” and put it right back on the shelf, because the real meat of Modest Mouse lies a bit further back in the catalogue. “Polar Opposites” is a prime example.
Off Modest Mouse’s classic 1997 sophomore album The Lonesome Crowded West—home of other fantastic songs like “Trailer Trash“, and “Doin’ the Coackroach” to name but a few—”Polar Opposites” seems at first like a relatively jaunty tune, with a melody asking for a singalong. But on a closer look, it betrays a layer of abject depression that really bleeds through the whole album. And juxtaposed with the sing-songy chorus about a particularly nasty flavor of alcoholism, that makes for a complex classic. [Spotify, Amazon, iTunes]
