Modest Mouse announced today their first new album in five years, and their first album on Glacial Pace Recordings, the longtime imprint of lead singer Isaac Brock, after over two decades on Epic Records. An Eraser and a Maze will be released on June 5 and was produced by Brock with additional production by Jackknife Lee (U2, The Killers), Suzy Shinn (Weezer), and Justin Raisen (Charli xcx, Kim Gordon, Lil Yachty). An Eraser And A Maze” is available for pre-save and pre-order now. The album will be released on CD and 2LPs, with exclusive vinyl variants available at www.modestmouse.com and select retailers here.

There’s a theory in physics — the idea that past, present, and future all exist simultaneously, and that the passage of time itself is an illusion. It’s also the best way to understand An Eraser and a Maze, because you can hear every era of Modest Mouse coexisting at once on it. It might mark the end of a timeline. Or the start of one. Or maybe both at once. Modest Mouse began working on this collection of songs immediately following 2021’s The Golden Casket. With six songs that could have formed an EP, he considered releasing them as his side project, Ugly Casanova, but ultimately decided to feature the expanded collection on the band’s Glacial Pace Recordings.

As for the thematic glue that holds it all together, while Brock is no fan of overexplaining or overintellectualizing a record, what he will allow: With 2021’s The Golden Casket, he was trying to manufacture post-pandemic silver linings. “For this one, I turned off my filter and just let it all happen. Even though every goddamn musician says that when they put out a record. I mean, go ahead and listen to the three-minute mark of any interview between a musician and Terry Gross …”

“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.”

Modest Mouse also shared today the opening track. “Picking Dragon’s Pockets,” a bombastic kickoff to the album with an anthemic chorus that’ll have you singing loudly about navigating a manipulative, self-destructive world. The album kicks off bombastically with the opening track, “Picking Dragon’s Pockets.” Featuring an anthemic chorus, this song will inspire loud singing about navigating a self-destructive and manipulative world.

Modest Mouse will embark on a North American spring/summer tour beginning May 12th in Spokane, WA, that includes festival stops at Bonnaroo, Outside Lands and Shaky Knees. New tour dates in cities such as Austin, Los Angeles, New York City, and Seattle were announced today, with tickets going on sale this Friday at 10am local time. The complete tour schedule, with new dates noted in bold, is listed below and can be found at here.

Modest Mouse tour dates:

5/12 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory *

5/13 – Missoula, MT – The Wilma *

5/14 – Bozeman, MT – The Elm *

5/15 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Block Party

6/4 – New Haven, CT – College Street Music Hall #

6/5 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom #

6/6 – Allentown, PA – Archer Music Hall #

6/7 – Virginia Beach, VA – Virginia Beach Dome #

6/9 – Wilmington, NC – Greenfield Lake Amp #

6/10 – Charleston, SC – Charleston Music Hall

6/12 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel #

6/13 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel #

6/14 – Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo Festival

7/2 – Bellingham, WA – Mt Baker Theatre &

7/3 – Vancouver, BC – Orpheum Theatre &

7/5 – Calgary, AB – Calgary Stampede

7/7 – Saskatoon, SK – Saskatchewan Jazz Festival

7/10 – Seattle, WA – The 5th Avenue Theatre @

7/11 – Seattle, WA – The 5th Avenue Theatre @

8/4 – Ojai, CA – Libbey Bowl &

8/5 – Del Mar, CA – The Sound &

8/7 – San Francisco, CA – Outside Lands Music Festival

8/8 – Jacksonville, OR – Britt Pavilion &

8/9 – Portland, OR – Pioneer Courthouse Square !

8/12 – Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed

8/13 – Saint Paul, MN – Palace Theater

8/14 – Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theater

8/18 – Washington, DC – Nationals Park ^

8/19 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore

8/20 – South Deerfield, MA – Tree House Brewing

8/21 – Shelburne, VT – The Green

8/28 – Palmer, AK – Alaska State Fair

9/16 – Clearwater, FL – The BayCare Sound

9/17 – St Augustine, FL – The Saint Augustine Amphitheatre

9/18 – Orlando, FL – House of Blues Orlando

9/20 – Atlanta, GA – Shaky Knees Festival

9/22 – Fayetteville, AR – Ozark Music Hall

9/23 – Kansas City, MO – Grinders KC

9/24 – Columbia, MO – Rose Park

9/25 – Omaha, NE – The Astro Theater

9/29 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee ^^

9/30 – Cleveland, OH – Jacobs Pavilion ^^

10/1 – Cincinnati, OH – MegaCorp Pavilion Outdoor ^^

10/2 – Grand Rapids, MI – GLC Live at 20 Monroe ^^

10/4 – Ottawa, ON – HISTORY Ottawa ^^

10/5 – Toronto, ON – Meridian Hall ^^

10/7 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner ^^

10/8 – New York, NY – The Rooftop at Pier 17 ^^

10/9 – Baltimore, MD – Pier Six Pavilion ^^

10/10 – Pittsburgh, PA – Citizens Live at The Wylie ^^

10/13 – New Orleans, LA – The Fillmore New Orleans ^^

10/15 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at The Moody Theater ^^

10/16 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory ^^

10/17 – San Antonio, TX – Boeing Center at Tech Port ^^

10/19 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre ^^

10/20 – Hollywood, CA – Hollywood Palladium ^^

10/22 – Avila Beach, CA – Avila Beach Golf Resort ^^

10/23 – Sacramento, CA – Channel 24 ^^

* with Mattress

& with Sun Atoms

# with Silver Triplets of the Rio Hondo

^ with My Chemical Romance

@ with Pinback

! with Mike Watt & The Missing Men

^^ with Caroline Rose