Building success out of an idiosyncratic indie rock sound.
Modest Mouse: Influences
Meet a cast of inspirations as diverse as the band's lineup.
Modest Mouse: Deep Cuts
The indie rock icons at their most unhinged and unpredictable.
Modest Mouse’s 2024 North American Tour Set List
Listen to the hits performed on the blockbuster tour.
About Modest Mouse
Artist Biography
Modest Mouse have lived many lives—as feisty lo-fi heroes, beloved indie oddballs, unlikely chart-toppers, and respected rock statesmen. It’s a reflection of frontman Isaac Brock’s raw, restless, somewhat unhinged spirit: Heck, he’s remained the only consistent member throughout the band’s existence since forming as a trio in 1992 in Issaquah, Washington. Modest Mouse were influential from the start, rising from the hallowed DIY grounds of Calvin Johnson’s K Records. In the ‘90s, they released several EPs and two albums that balanced dark, sprawling, inward-looking indie with Pixies-inspired pop and raucous, tantrum-throwing rock—all informed by Brock’s panoramic view of existential dread. The band launched into the 21st century with a major-label deal and 2000’s The Moon & Antarctica, an expansive, mercurial collection of warped strings and keys and layers upon layers of guitars that both assuage and assault. They’d polish up that sound even more for 2004’s Good News for People Who Love Bad News, which holds more than a few heady gems, including No. 1 hit “Float On,” a perfect representation of Modest Mouse’s manic guitar pop masquerading as a sunny, if not sardonic, sing-along. The bigger they got, the brassier the hooks became, with help from former The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr on 2007’s We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank and an ever-evolving lineup. Brock—still spitting out his best neurotic, nihilistic, quote-worthy lines—remains the harried heart of it all, keeping Modest Mouse as wondrously weird as ever.
Hometown
Issaquah, WA, United States
Genre
Alternative
Members of Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse was formed in 1993. Members of Modest Mouse include, or have included, the following 10 members.