Modest Mouse has revealed details of its new album, An Eraser and a Maze, marking the band's first independent release in nearly 30 years. The LP, due out on June 5 via frontman Isaac Brock's Glacial Pace Recordings, follows the 2021 release The Golden Casket. The group also shared a new single and extensive tour dates.
After more than two decades with Epic Records, Modest Mouse announced An Eraser and a Maze on April 21. The album represents the band's return to independent releases since 1997's The Lonesome Crowded West and serves as its eighth studio effort. Isaac Brock, the frontman, originally envisioned the project as an EP for his Ugly Casanova side project but expanded it into a full Modest Mouse album. He described the process in a statement: “For this one, I turned off my filter and just let it all happen. Even though every goddamn musician says that when they put out a record. I mean, go ahead and listen to the three-minute mark of any interview between a musician and Terry Gross …” The first single, “Look How Far,” premiered in March, with “Picking Dragons’ Pockets” released as the latest track. The full tracklist spans 15 songs, including “Rotten Fruit” featuring Justin Raisen and “Look How Far.” Modest Mouse kicks off a North American tour on May 12 in Spokane, Washington, at the Knitting Factory. The trek includes festival appearances like Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, and Shaky Knees, plus shows with support acts such as My Chemical Romance and Caroline Rose. Dates extend through October, covering cities from Vancouver to New Orleans. Earlier this year, in February, the band hosted its first cruise festival, Modest Mouse Presents Ice Cream Floats.