Modest Mouse "The Ground Walks, with Time in a Box"

Through a Reddit post last night, indie rockers Modest Mouse revealed a new track off their forthcoming album, the third since they initially teased the LP with the December release of Lampshades On Fire.

The highly anticipated Strangers to Ourselves, due out March 17 on Epic Records, will be the band’s first new music in six years, since the 2009 EP No One’s First and Your Next. At just over six minutes in length, “The Ground Walks, with Time in a Box” is a funky, uptempo song complete with interesting instrumentation (horns! strings! beeps and boops!) and a groovy bassline. In the chorus, lead singer and guitarist Isaac Brock sings, “We greased all the roads / We’re floating in the light / We’re gonna break these borders / We’re gonna pulse in time”.

A signature of the Modest Mouse sound, at around the 4-minute mark, the instrumental break suddenly deteriorates into a brief period of distortion then recovers. Isaac, himself, took to Reddit last night when the track was posted, welcomed user feedback, and cryptically answered a few fan questions. Asked about the inspiration for the song, he responded, “A vacuum. Salvador Dali. Reality. Naaa none of that s***”. Asked about what the album cover art depicts, he simply answered, “Humans made tiny”. Asked what track he’s most excited for people to hear on the new LP, he sharply replied, “I didn’t make a record of one song I was excited for people to hear. I got rid of anything I wasn’t excited to have people hear”. One user evoked a “Bingo” from Isaac with their comment on the song, “Really makes me want to dance but it still has this sorta sad feeling in it. I feel like over all this will not be a happy album”. If that response is anything to go by, we’re in for some confusingly danceable melancholia next month, and we can’t wait.