Isaac Brock's side project with the enigmatic John Orth comes across as Modest Mouse with the edges filed down and the tempos slowed. The arrangements sprawl more here, guitar lines looping and tangling while Brock's vocals stay conversational, almost offhand. Tracks like "Barnacles" and "Cat Faces" build around repetitive figures that shift gradually rather than resolve. Tim Tutili from Califone and Pall Jenkins from The Black Heart Procession contribute throughout, adding texture without crowding the space.
The production feels deliberately murky. Instruments bleed into each other, vocals sit low in the mix, and several songs drift past six minutes without much happening structurally. "Pacifico" and "Smoke Like Ribbons" move at a crawl, guitar and organ trading phrases while Brock mutters through verses that feel half-finished. It is patient music, sometimes to a fault. A few tracks feel like sketches that could have used another pass.
This came out in 2002 originally, reissued in 2015 on Sub Pop. If you liked the slower, stranger moments on The Moon & Antarctica, this goes further in that direction. Not essential, but interesting if you want to hear Brock working outside his main band's framework.
