The Current: Coyote Ugly Casanova

Lauren Peressini

Courtesy of Pitchfork.

Coming off an eight year hiatus, my favorite band, Modest Mouse, are officially putting out a new album. The new album, Strangers to Ourselves, will be released on March 3. So far, two singles have been released, “Lampshades on Fire‰” and “Coyotes.‰” “Lampshades on Fire‰” is more upbeat than a lot of the songs I love from Modest Mouse but is nonetheless a necessary listen. The track “Coyotes‰” is “Inspired by the true story of a coyote that rode Portland’s MAX light rail train in 2002‰” according the music video’s Youtube description.

Modest Mouse really sparked my interest in indie music so I am simply beside myself at the prospect of a new release. One of the many ways I‰’ve filled the void of no new albums from the Washingtonian band is through lead singer Isaac Brock‰’s side project Ugly Casanova. Although Ugly Casanova‰’s only album, Sharpen Your Teeth, was released in 2002, years before Modest Mouse went on hiatus, I hadn‰’t heard about it until about a year or so ago. I lured myself into the false sense that Sharpen Your Teeth was a new Modest Mouse album due to the familiar philosophical lyrics and rough vocals. But now, I have no more need to lie to myself.

In the world of indie music, Modest Mouse paralled Kim Kardashian‰’s Papermag cover by breaking the internet with their newly formed Instagram account. The first post, on December 8, was a picture of a vinyl record with “Side A ‘Lampshades on Fire'” scribbled on it. “Lampshades on Fire‰” has been a recurring member of Modest Mouse set lists since 2011. Many fans therefore caught onto the fact that a new album was looming before Strangers to Ourselves was officially announced a week later.

Modest Mouse‰’s existence on Instagram shows just how much the indie music scene, and music overall, has changed in the past eight years. Immediacy is increasingly more important. This is exemplified through the pre-order option for Strangers to Ourselves via iTunes and Glacial Pace, Brock‰’s own record label. Included in a pre-order of the album is a t-shirt or sweatshirt, which previously for Modest Mouse would have probably only been available as merch sold at a concert. The internet is sorcery, honestly. I‰’m already counting down the days until I‰’m jamming to Strangers to Ourselves on Spotify.