Although you can hear echoes of the Minutemen and Nirvana, along with slightly larger ensembles such as Pavement and Thrush Hermit, Modest Mouse puts an entirely new twist on the post-punk power trio concept. The band eschews the camouflage of noise, effects, and attitude employed by many of their indie rock peers to create ironic distance. Instead, they strictly rely on inventive, surprising songwriting, and low-key-but-committed performance to lay their claim as innovators and inheritors of the guitar-bass-drums tradition. Even though Modest Mouse's stylistic variations (rock-funk, edgy, brittle pop) often reach back to the American underground boom of the early eighties where the band's roots lie, they are never less than forward-looking. "Lonesome Crowded West" reveals Modest Mouse to be extraordinarily focused, as it fully realizes their vision of America as a vehicle for their surreal, sometimes oblique, portraits of modern life. Melodic enough to be accessible but raw enough to keep things lively, the band has reached a high point in their career here.