Described as having a "white trash" aesthetic,[3]The Lonesome Crowded West received positive reviews from critics, and appeared on several lists of the best albums of the 1990s. The album was reissued by Isaac Brock's Glacial Pace label in 2014, along with Modest Mouse's 1996 debut This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About.[4]
Music and lyrics
The Lonesome Crowded West has been noted for its stylistic diversity. Blake Butler of AllMusic assessed that the album alternates between "dark and pounding thrashers" and "quiet, brooding [acoustic]" tracks.[3] The album's third track, "Convenient Parking," is said to consist of "a dusty practice riff with broken springs," which is said to "border on the hypnotic."[5][6] The album contains elements of grunge and hip-hop. The album also incorporates turntablism on the track "Heart Cooks Brain," and fiddles and banjos on "Jesus Christ Was an Only Child".[7]
Lyrically, the album explores themes including urbanization, religion and the human condition.[5][6] Adrian Spinelli of Paste assessed that the album "sees Isaac Brock lamenting the veritable concrete jungle that the world around him has become. [...] He builds the imagery of driving through the country staring out the window and observing the human condition, passing from town to town and detailing the minutiae of the lives he passes, often his own."[8]
Blake Butler of AllMusic praised the album's innovation and stylistic diversity, saying "there's something here for everyone" and called the album "indie rock at its very best."[9]
Pitchfork ranked The Lonesome Crowded West at number 29 in their list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1990s,[20] and the song "Trailer Trash" reached number 63 in their list of the 200 greatest songs of the decade.[21]Spin ranked the album at number 59 in their list of the 100 greatest albums of 1985–2005,[22] and Entertainment Weekly included the album in their list The Indie Rock 25.[23]The A.V. Club has described The Lonesome Crowded West as the band's breakthrough recording.[24] Sam Hockley-Smith, in a retrospective review for Stereogum, refers to The Lonesome Crowded West as "the album that made Modest Mouse a great band instead of just a good one" and writes that the primary theme of disillusionment in Brock's lyrics is "not pretty, but it's honest, and that honesty makes it beautiful, like Modest Mouse were desperately trying — and failing — to hold onto that last bit of naiveté."[25] In 2024, Paste Magazine ranked The Lonesome Crowded West number 300 on its list of the 300 Greatest Albums of All Time.[26]
In June 2012, Pitchfork.tv released a forty-five-minute documentary on the album. The documentary included archival footage taken during live performances and original recording/mix sessions.[27]
As of June 2000, according to Nielsen SoundScan, the album had sold over 60,000 copies in the United States.[28]
The double-vinyl edition released on Up Records includes an extra track; "Baby Blue Sedan", and a slightly re-ordered track listing. Rather than having a gatefold cover to house both records, or putting both records in a single cover, the double-vinyl release was shipped in two different covers. The 2014 vinyl reissue on Glacial Pace contains the same track listing and two-cover configuration.
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