Adding more range and nuance as well as ecological and political themes to the band's music, The Lonesome Crowded West earned more strong reviews and eventually became known as one of the era's definitive indie rock albums. The band reunited with Johnson to make May 1997's EP The Fruit That Ate Itself and that November's sophomore full-length The Lonesome Crowded West (which also featured production by Scott Swayze). Co-produced with Wold, its tales of emotional and geographic isolation earned strong reviews. Following the 1996 single "Broke," which was recorded with Steve Wold (who found fame a few years later as grizzled blues hobo Seasick Steve) and a few other short-form releases, Modest Mouse signed with Up Records for their April 1996 debut album This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About. In 1994, Modest Mouse recorded their debut 7", "Blue Cadet-3, Do You Connect?" at Calvin Johnson's Dub Narcotic Studio in Olympia, Washington, and Johnson released it on his K Records label later that year. The shed became their rehearsal space and base of operations as they forged a nervy sound inspired by bands such as Pixies, XTC, and Pavement. Brock, who met Judy while working at a local video store and Green at a heavy metal concert, was only 18 and living in a shed next to his mother's trailer home when Modest Mouse began working together. Modest Mouse was founded in 1992 in Issaquah, Washington by guitarist and vocalist Isaac Brock, bassist Eric Judy, and drummer Jeremiah Green. On later albums like 2007's chart-topping We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (which featured legendary guitarist Johnny Marr) and 2021's The Golden Casket, Modest Mouse gave their music arena-sized proportions without sacrificing their idiosyncratic outlook. Their major-label debut, 2000's moody, sprawling The Moon and Antarctica, showed just how grandly ambitious their music could be, while 2005's platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated commercial breakthrough, Good News for People Who Love Bad News, and its smash hit "Float On" revealed their flair for anthemic pop singles. Coupled with Isaac Brock's wild-eyed yelp and sketches of small-town life, their mix of emo, folk, post-rock and prog, won critical acclaim. On their early singles and albums like 1997's The Lonesome Crowded West, they proved there was more to the Pacific Northwest underground than grunge. Capable of punkish rawness, simmering atmosphere, and light-hearted pop, Modest Mouse shaped the sound of late-'90s indie rock and enjoyed mainstream success in the years that followed.
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