On their previous album Strangers to Ourselves, Modest Mouse catalogued environmental and societal woes with dark, insular songs. Arriving six years later -- a relatively brief gap compared to the eight years that separated Strangers and We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank -- The Golden Casket finds the band stepping into the light and out of their comfort zone. Working with co-producers Jacknife Lee and Dave Sardy, Isaac Brock, Jeremiah Green, and company give their seventh album a sheen thats slick, but not bland. If anything, The Golden Casket sounds more adventurous than the band has been in some time. Where Strangers to Ourselves covered well-worn territory, this time Modest Mouse run riot through a variety of styles while maintaining the anthemic scope theyve had since Float On. With its chilly synths and mechanical beats, We Are Between recalls LCD Soundsystem; the bubbly psych-pop of The Sun Hasnt Left evokes the Flaming Lips skill at making childrens music for adults; and theres more than a hint of Talking Heads surreal storytelling to Leave a Light Ons slow-motion motorik. Indeed, Modest Mouse save what might be their most quintessential-sounding song for last: Minus its shuffling beats and breakdowns, Back to the Middle couldve appeared on The Lonesome Crowded West or The Moon and Antarctica, and its triumphant guitar solos make it one of the albums brightest highlights. Brocks wild-eyed and philosophical sides get equal time over the course of The Golden Casket, with the tempestuous Walking and Running capturing the former and Transmitting/Receiving -- a trippy mantra with the spookiness of a numbers station broadcast -- repping the latter. Holding all of these strands together is a newfound feeling of gratitude. On songs as different as the brassy ballad Were Lucky and the majestically ramshackle Wooden Soldiers, Brock states that just being in the moment is enough for him. What makes this positivity feel authentic is the way the band balances sunshine and shadow. Even on the albums sweetest track, Lace Up Your Shoes, Brock cant turn a blind eye to the bad things in the world as he sings to his young daughter: I hate that thisll happen/But I know that itll happen/Someones going to be cruel. Its one of several genuinely affecting moments on The Golden Casket that finds the perfect balance between optimism and realism -- and makes it Modest Mouses finest work since Good News for People Who Love Bad News. ~ Heather Phares

Rovi