Modest Mouse Album Review: No One’s Good News for a Long Drive and You’re Next

The new Modest Mouse album is OK.
“No One’s First and You’re Next” is eight tracks long and was released on August 4, and it’s just OK.
How long has it been since MM’s last release? Two years? This is their newest recording and it’s the best they can do? It may sound harsh, but I’m tired of making excuses for bands, especially a band like MM that I hold in such high regard.
I understand that after a group achieves success their sound is likely to change. Why wouldn’t a band want to spend some of their earnings on more album production and a better, cleaner sound? And while there is a clear difference between the production on 1996’s “This is a Long Drive With Nothing to Think About” and production on “…You’re Next,” that’s not my issue with the band.