Modest Mouse
The Moon and Antarctica

LA RECENSIONE

A very unique album... just like the band who made it... "The Moon and Antarctica" is a little gem, that, like every respectable record, makes you travel, makes you dream... the peculiarity of this album is that it takes you on a journey through space, oh yes, because right from the first tracks of the album, Modest Mouse absorbs you with their sad, angry, blurry atmospheres and projects you into infinite space... each note takes you further and further away from Earth, sometimes the note is harsh and strong and you're tossed away, other times the note is sweet and light and you're lulled far away.

It all begins with "3rd Planet", a wonderful song where quiet alternates with anger... we move on and encounter "Perfect Disguise"; thanks to this piece, our journey has officially begun: a minute of sweet guitar, and then finally his hypnotic voice enters and caresses us until the end of this song. One of the most beautiful tracks is found at the seventh position, which is "The Cold Part"; probably the most magical and sweet song of the album, it takes us to desolate and melancholic places and delivers us to the desperation of the more angry and energetic "Alone Down There". It's really a desperate cry: I don't want you to be alone down there /to be alone down there/to be alone.

After this turbulent moment, we return to tranquility; "Wild Packs Family Dogs" is as simple as it is beautiful, this country song, paced by an excellent classical guitar and a sad harmonica, seems carefree, but then you immediately rethink it once you listen closely to the lyrics... here comes another masterpiece, this time called "Paper Thin Walls". Isaac, in the grip of madness, screams and shouts asking for some attention, probably the cover is inspired by this song. The next song is called "I Came As a Rat"; here Isaac's voice comes like that of a prophet and intertwines perfectly with the syncopated guitar... three more songs and the journey is over... when the last piece finishes, you're quickly sent back to daily reality and you feel a bit of the absence of space... oh, how you feel it.

Torn until the end between four and five, I chose the former because some tracks (very few indeed) didn't quite convince me...