Modest Mouse An Eraser and A Maze
Modest Mouse's An Eraser and a Maze arrives as a weathered, candid reckoning with loss, aging, and legacy, and across professional reviews the record earns a cautiously favorable reception. Critics point to emotionally wrenching high points such as “Third Side of the Moon” and “Life's a Dream” alongside the raw immedia
The best song is "Third Side of the Moon" because its heartbreaking narrative about a lost friend is singled out as deeply personal.
The opener "Picking Dragons’ Pockets" is the album’s most immediate and hook-riddled highlight.
Best for listeners looking for grief and mortality, starting with Picking Dragons’ Pockets and Third Side of the Moon.
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Full consensus notes
Modest Mouse's An Eraser and a Maze arrives as a weathered, candid reckoning with loss, aging, and legacy, and across professional reviews the record earns a cautiously favorable reception. Critics point to emotionally wrenching high points such as “Third Side of the Moon” and “Life's a Dream” alongside the raw immediacy of “Picking Dragons’ Pockets” and the frenzied nostalgia of “Look How Far...”. With a 72.5/100 consensus score across 6 professional reviews, the critical consensus suggests the album is worth attention for its standout songs even when its experiments sometimes feel uneven.
Reviewers consistently note Brock's confrontation with mortality and memory: songs like “I Can't Talk Right Now” and “Remember Yourself” fold cosmic imagery into intimate grief, while mid-album ramshackle jams provide texture and occasional clutter. Critics praised the record's willingness to favor rawness over polish at times, celebrating moments of studio experimentation and panoramic lyricism, yet several reviews also flag loose structures and tracks that drift toward filler. The result is a collection where nostalgia and existential reflection coexist with bursts of unfiltered energy.
Taken together, professional reviews frame An Eraser and a Maze as a mature, sometimes messy chapter in Modest Mouse's catalog: not an unqualified return to form, but a compelling, imperfect meditation whose best songs - “Third Side of the Moon”, “Life's a Dream”, “Picking Dragons’ Pockets”, “Look How Far...”, and “I Can't Talk Right Now” - secure the album's emotional core and make it worth listening for fans and newcomers curious about the band's continued evolution.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Picking Dragons’ Pockets
1 mention
"The first Modest Mouse radio hit of the decade could very well be the punchy, hook-riddled opener "Picking Dragons’ Pockets,"— Pitchfork
Third Side of the Moon
2 mentions
"Brock almost gets there on the reverb-soaked "Third Side Of The Moon," singing in what sounds like genuinely drunk bereavement:"— Pitchfork
Life's a Dream
2 mentions
"tracks like the densely arranged rocker “Life’s A Dream"— AllMusic
I can’t believe how long I’ve wanted to be living in the past," he belts frenetically alongside the prodding guitar riffs of "Look How Far...,
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Picking Dragons’ Pockets
Remember Yourself
Life's a Dream
Third Side of the Moon
Dogbed in Heaven / Give It a Skeleton
Interlude
I Can't Talk Right Now
Speak ’N Spell (Or Not)
Rotten Fruit (feat. pkpkpkpk)
Knocked Down by Waves
Absolutely Necessary Never
Song About Nothing
Stoner Party
Look How Far...
Impossible Somedays
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What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 6 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Modest Mouse’s An Eraser and a Maze finds its best tracks in the emotionally direct “Third Side of the Moon” and the densely arranged rocker “Life's a Dream”, songs that distill grief and reflection into unforgettable moments. The album also showcases quiet clarity on “Remember Yourself”, whose rolling acoustic wash frames Brock’s meditations on mortality. These standout songs—balanced by lighter moments like “Song About Nothing” and “Stoner Party”—make clear why listeners asking for the best songs on An Eraser and a Maze will point to those deeper, more affecting cuts.
Key Points
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The best song is "Third Side of the Moon" because its heartbreaking narrative about a lost friend is singled out as deeply personal.
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The album’s core strengths are its blend of grief-driven reflection and a balance of chaotic and melodic arrangements.
Themes
No
Critic's Take
Modest Mouse sound less tightened and more immediate on An Eraser and a Maze, and the best tracks here - notably “Picking Dragons’ Pockets” and “Look How Far...” - show Brock still has that unfiltered spark. The opener “Picking Dragons’ Pockets” is the album’s punchy, hook-riddled candidate for a decade-era radio moment, while “Look How Far...” belts with frenzied nostalgia and evidence of unbridled energy. Mid-album cuts like “Speak ’N Spell (Or Not)” provide ramshackle jams that reward repeat listens, even as some experiments blur into filler. This is an album about reckoning, sometimes messy, often affecting, and best judged by its standout songs.
Key Points
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The opener "Picking Dragons’ Pockets" is the album’s most immediate and hook-riddled highlight.
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The album’s strengths are raw, unfiltered performances and moments of genuine emotional reckoning, balanced against occasional filler.
Themes
Critic's Take
Modest Mouse confronts middle age on An Eraser and A Maze with a voice that still yelps at the horizon, and the best songs - notably “I Can't Talk Right Now” and “Remember Yourself” - crystallize that aching, panoramic concern. Brock's rhythmic yawp and the record's cosmic tremolo make “I Can't Talk Right Now” a pained centerpiece, while the rolling “Remember Yourself” pairs mortal lyricism with vintage propulsion. Elsewhere, “Life's a Dream” carries the debut-era loneliness in its dry guitars, tying the album's themes of loss and stubborn curiosity into its strongest moments.
Key Points
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The best song is “I Can't Talk Right Now” because its pained, cosmic tremolo and Brock's vocal centrality make it the album's emotional core.
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The album's core strength is its honest engagement with aging, loss, and nostalgia, rendered through evocative imagery and familiar sonic tropes.