It’s expected a band’s sound will change over time and Modest Mouse is no exception, releasing nine records since 1996. Its newest, The Golden Casket, offers a dramatic change in tone. Lead singer and songwriter Isaac Brock varies his lyrical topics from racist cowboys to Charles Bukowski or an indifferent God, but sticks to more pessimistic matter (“Float On” not withstanding). On the latest, he offers gratitude and hope for mankind. Needless to say, it’s out character, but everyone changes. The “golden casket” here may be the resting place of a rock and roll lifestyle well-lived.

The album starts with “F**k Your Acid Trip,” so already we know that someone doesn’t party like he used to. Modest Mouse plays with stereo sound, then Brock’s familiar growl enters as he sings about being uninterested in going to the beach. “This isn’t my weekend I need to get home/ You knew already I didn’t plan to go/ So fuck your acid trip I need to get home,” he sings. There’s a poppy chorus and with other lyrics like, “If you need a ride, I need to go now,” you get the picture that he’s matured greatly since writing “The Good Times Are Killing Me” in 2004. Oh, how the tables have turned, and now he’s killing the good times.

“We Are Between” gets to the theme of the album and touches on Brock’s appreciation for mankind’s temporary place on the planet. “We are between/ Somewhere between dust and the stars,” he sings over twinkling, metallic sounds as the song quiets into a simple ethereal string chord and his voice. “We’re Lucky” begins with a similar theme but it’s a pretty rockin’ lullaby, with jubilant trumpet and a feeling of pure joy as Modest Mouse appreciates the beauty of Earth. “These are some places we’re lucky just to be,” Brock sings.

“Walking And Running” is a percussion-heavy song with odd sound effects shooting in from the sidelines. The lyrics, about animals in their habitats, are sung rushed and excited. The song builds to a guitar solo that picks up the mood and gets the ball rolling on the main movement on the album. This is contrasted by the following “Wooden Soldiers,” which has Brock’s cynicism cropping up again. It’s a dirge-like song, recalling 2004’s Good News For People Who Love Bad News. “Hashtaggin’, photo braggin’, no one’s even sold a reel,” Brock sings, describing ailments inflicted by Instagram. “Just being here now is enough for me,” he sings, a potent realization repeated over whistling and orchestral strings.

“Transmitting Receiving” begins with a muffled, chorus-affected guitar gently being strummed over complex spoken lyrics about a presumed evolution mankind is experiencing. “Nothing in this world is gonna petrify me/ We are repeating/ We are transmitting,” Brock sings. “The Sun Hasn’t Left” starts with xylophone synth and an affirmation: “You’re not wrong, things are a mess but there’s something left.” The hope for humanity is thick on The Golden Casket, which at times even crosses over into the inspirational. With a feminine voice singing back-up, the song is more similar to Len’s “Steal My Sunshine” than anything by Modest Mouse. It’s an upbeat, lighthearted and enjoyable tune.

It’s on “Lace Your Shoes” that we get insight into what accounts for this sea change in the band’s attitude. “I’m working to be better so that you get to do the same,” Brock sings. It plays like an incredibly beautiful tribute from a father to his little one. “The sunshine pours out your of mouth and eyes, and out on to the floor, and I can’t see nothin anymore,” he says. The change in sense of responsibility and hope for humanity begins to make more sense with these lines.

Of course, “Never F**k A Spider On The Fly” promises a little of the old ways. “I can’t care for politics and it doesn’t care for me,” Brock says, as close as the singer comes to addressing politics. “There’s a lot of news.” Indeed, there has been, Mr. Brock.

“Leave A Light On” starts with musical water… or watery music (whichever you prefer to imagine). Brock sings of the various environments in which people live and how different worlds breeds different perspectives. It talks about his many friends, but ultimately the message is that home is where the heart is.

“Japanese Trees” is a pretty, rocking song that evokes classic Modest Mouse. “Not even guessing what your plans may be/ You’re twisted and bent like a Japenese tree,” Brock chides. He forgot to mention “in desperate need of watering,” unless this man has gotten so responsible that his bonsais aren’t dying from lack of competent care. The heavy guitar playing on “Back To The Middle” let us know that the album has come to an end. “We lived in cities and we lived in caves, I guess I’d like to go to the middle again,” Brock says, a revealing truth about the band.

There has always been a vintage feeling to Modest Mouse’s musical landscape, as if it began in the days when cars were made completely of steel and planned obsolescence hadn’t taken hold of American industry. It’s probably a strange success when a band has been around long enough that it begins to incorporate new terminology (hashtags, selfies) into its work. Isaac Brock started out writing about taking long drives and now he’d rather stay home. There’s nothing wrong with that and the new album brings all of his band’s immense talent merrily forward, even as we’ve all been humbled and sobered by our recent reality. “Just being here now is enough for me,” is Brock’s sentiment.

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