An Eraser and a Maze: CD

A physics theory says past, present, and future coexist, and that’s the best lens for An Eraser and a Maze, which feels like every era of Modest Mouse happening at once. Guided by Isaac Brock’s instinct-first process, the album is both familiar and alien, warm and cold. It stretches across the band’s sonic history, from propulsive classics to stripped, raw moments, while carrying an undercurrent of mortality and loss that refuses easy optimism.