Isaac Brock is holed up in his Portland studio, Ice Cream Party, which is essentially a multi-level playground for musicians. Surrounded by a collection of guitars, an array of colorful pedals and a treasure trove of Modest Mouse ephemera, Brock cracks a Guinness, a beer he says he only drinks during interviews. Before he finishes the first sip, he’s interrogated about when the next Modest Mouse album will be released: “Well, it’s gonna be about an hour behind because of this interview, but it’s coming along well.”
His quick wit, typically sprinkled with a tinge of irreverence, is what makes Brock’s lyrics so clever. Even the album titles—The Lonesome Crowded West, Strangers to Ourselves, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank and Good News For People Who Love Bad News—are soaked in sagacity.
The next Modest Mouse album, the follow-up to 2021’s The Golden Casket, is nearly done; Brock explains he’s tasked with shaving the final project down by 10 songs to make the “best record” out of what he has in his arsenal, although he won’t be taking any psychedelic mushrooms to complete the process.
“That would not be helpful,” he says. “I need to be hearing it as it would be heard… by maybe sober people.”
For the past several years, Modest Mouse has leaned heavily into its mushroom-friendly aesthetic. The band’s new collaboration with Souldier, Brock’s preferred guitar strap company, is adorned with images of poisonous fly agaric ’shrooms and eyeballs with multi-colored rays coming out of them—not exactly subtle.
Brock, a mushroom connoisseur, admittedly took a handful of them on Thanksgiving, “laughed a little harder than usual” and then went to bed. He had some vivid dreams, but it was somewhat underwhelming as far as …
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Author: Javier Hasse / High Times
