Modest Mouse

Modest Mouse may have formed just outside of Seattle in the midst of the grunge era, and even released one of their early singles on Sub Pop, but they couldn't have been more different from the flannel-bedecked riff-rockers who put that town on the rock 'n' roll map in the '90s. Nevertheless, they became alt-rock standard-bearers for the 2000s. Singer/guitarist Isaac Brock was still in his teens when he formed Modest Mouse with drummer Jeremiah Green and bass player Eric Judy. They released their debut EP, Blue Cadet-3, Do You Connect?, in 1994 on storied Olympia, WA indie label K Records. Their first LP, This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About, appeared two years later via the Seattle-based Up label. It introduced the trio to the world at large as indie-rock miniaturists operating on a human-size scale, utilizing clipped rhythms, cyclical guitar riffs, and scrappy vocals that alternate between yearning and agitated. But it was the band's second album, 1997's The Lonesome Crowded West that really put them on the map and made them the indie-rock "it" band of that time. Their newfound notoriety soon translated into a major-label deal, and in 2000 they put out The Moon & Antarctica on Epic Records, nabbing a spot on the U.S. album charts for the first time. In 2003, Green left the band, and by the time they released Good News for People Who Love Bad News they had not only a new drummer, Ben Weikel, but a second guitarist, Dann Gallucci. The record went Platinum and earned Modest Mouse a Grammy nomination. Green ended up returning in 2004, but Galluci left the band in 2006; in a surprising development, Galucci was replaced by none other than erstwhile Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. With Marr aboard, 2007's We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank went all the way to the top of the album charts. Two years later, Jim Fairchild took Marr's spot, but Modest Mouse didn't get around round to releasing another album until Strangers to Ourselves in 2015.