An Eraser And A Maze

Modest Mouse's first LP in five years is confident and restlessly inspired, juggling prickly melodicism and hard-earned optimism with left-hand turns that make clear Brock is as creatively plugged-in as ever. [Aug 2026, p.85]

There’s a verve and dynamism to even the slower songs that suggest he has once again tapped into a rich vein of form, three decades after announcing himself as one of US alternative rock’s most idiosyncratic voices.

Brock's determination to cram multiple styles into 15 tracks furnishes hangdog intrigues and knotty wisdoms aplenty. [Jul 2026, p.102]

Slightly frustrating, landing somewhere between greatness and average. Still, there’s enough here to suggest they’ve got another all-timer in them, and they’re pretty darn close to pulling it off.

The music still slaps, but the band occasionally opts for inorganic sounds, such as the synth-heavy “Absolutely Necessary Never” and the electronic rhythms of “Rotten Fruit” (featuring pkpkpkp), which feels foreign.

“Speak N Spell (Or Not)” is a iridescent guitar nod that is every bit as sweet as the best moments on The Lonesome Crowded West. But there are also moments where the music seems to meander without as much payoff, such as the rambling man’s take on iPhone alienation “Can’t Talk Right Now” or the New Wave-tinged “Absolutely Necessary Never,” cool ideas never quite materialize as great songs.

We’re spoon-fed half-baked concepts and mundane middle-aged observations stretched far beyond their depth. Somewhere inside An Eraser and A Maze, there’s probably a very good EP trying to get out.

Here, familiarly awkward slip-ups mingle with poignant moments.

An Eraser... is overstuffed with too many short studio experiments, but there are many more moments of startling humanity. [Jul 2026, p.35]

Offers some of the most emotionally poignant songs of the band’s career.

More often than not, An Eraser and a Maze makes you wish Modest Mouse had been more deliberate in sharpening these no-filter moments, especially as the nondescript instrumentals regularly blur into the background.