Modest Mouse Announce First New Album in Five Years and Massive Tour

Modest Mouse are finally back with new music, and this one carries some real weight. The band just announced An Eraser and a Maze, their first full-length album since 2021's The Golden Casket. It arrives June 5 on Isaac Brock's own Glacial Pace label through Virgin Music Group, and that detail alone makes this release historically significant. This is Modest Mouse's first indie release in over two decades, going all the way back to 1997's The Lonesome Crowded West.

On top of that, they've mapped out a massive North American tour that stretches from May through late October. Festivals, theaters, amphitheaters. The whole thing.

An Indie Homecoming Over 25 Years in the Making

I'll be real, the fact that this record is coming out on Glacial Pace is the part of the story that hits the hardest. Modest Mouse spent more than 25 years on Epic Records. That's a long run on a major label for a band that came up through the Pacific Northwest indie scene. Releasing An Eraser and a Maze on Brock's own imprint feels like a full-circle moment, especially considering it's landing just days after their debut album This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About turns 30.

Brock started working on new material right after The Golden Casket came out. He had about six songs that he initially considered releasing under his side project, Ugly Casanova, but ultimately committed to building out a full Modest Mouse record. The result is a 15-track album that reportedly draws on a physics theory suggesting past, present, and future all exist simultaneously. If that sounds like a very Isaac Brock way to conceptualize a record, well, you already know this band.

Brock produced the album himself, with additional contributions from Jackknife Lee (U2, The Killers), Suzy Shinn (Weezer), and Justin Raisen (Charli xcx, Kim Gordon). The previously released lead single "Look How Far" also features former Sleater-Kinney member Janet Weiss on drums.

This is also the first new Modest Mouse album since the passing of founding drummer Jeremiah Green in December 2022. That loss will inevitably color how people receive this record, and it should.

What Isaac Brock Had to Say

Brock's statement about the album is honestly peak Brock. "For this one, I turned off my filter and just let it all happen," he said. "Thoughts, emotions, feelings, all that stuff... you're like the soup, and it's not always easy to pick out the ingredients. I don't dwell on things much. I don't grieve much. I'm not sure I'm a person. I feel like I should have more feelings than I do. But then, you know, I'll sing stuff. And I'm like, 'Oh, there it is. Oh, it's in there.'"

That pretty much tells you everything you need to know about where this record is coming from.

New Singles and the Full Tracklist

Two singles are out now. "Look How Far" dropped back in March, and "Picking Dragons' Pockets" arrived alongside today's album announcement. The latter is the record's opening track, and it's got a lot going on. There's a pleasing synth undercurrent layered with an intense drums-and-guitar intro. It's a promising first look at where this album is headed.

Here's the full tracklist for An Eraser and a Maze:

1. "Picking Dragons' Pockets"
2. "Remember Yourself"
3. "Life's a Dream"
4. "Third Side of the Moon"
5. "Dogbed in Heaven / Give It a Skeleton"
6. "Interlude"
7. "I Can't Talk Right Now"
8. "Speak N' Spell (Or Not)"
9. "Rotten Fruit" (feat. Justin Raisen)
10. "Knocked Down by Waves"
11. "Absolutely Necessary Never"
12. "Song About Nothing"
13. "Stoner Party"
14. "Look How Far"
15. "Impossible Somedays"

The 2026 Tour Is Massive

The tour supporting this album is no joke. Modest Mouse already had dates on the books for 2026, but they've now expanded things significantly with a fall run that kicks off September 16 in Clearwater, FL and wraps October 23 in Sacramento, CA. Caroline Rose is confirmed as the support act for the fall leg.

The full run starts May 12 in Spokane and takes the band all over North America, including Canadian dates in Vancouver, Calgary, Saskatoon, Ottawa, and Toronto. They're also hitting some major festivals: Bonnaroo on June 14, Outside Lands on August 7, and Shaky Knees on September 20.

Here are the full tour dates: