Modest Mouse Appears in Different Phase of the ‘Moon’

There are two ways to hear Modest Mouse. On the Washington state band’s newest album, “The Moon & Antarctica,” the music is bathed under haunting effects and lots of acoustic guitars, crafting an edgy sound of delicacy and restraint. But the Modest Mouse on display at El Rey Theatre on Thursday was something else entirely: loud, manic and equally compelling.

Singer Isaac Brock wielded his guitar with raw, bristling force, building subversive melodies with ragged, fluid riffs. He roared into his microphone like Frank Black with a headache, and slashed at his guitar like Crazy Horse. The sound was big rock, indie-style.

The result was powerful enough that anyone looking for a straight-ahead re-creation of the band’s fine, melodic new album (which arrives in stores Tuesday) could have found themselves overwhelmed by volume, but hardly disappointed.

The trio was bolstered on Thursday (the first of two sold-out nights) by a keyboardist and a second guitarist, filling out the live set with sonic depth and frantic melody. Such new songs as “Paper Thin Walls” and “I Came as a Rat” were aggressively hook-filled and exploded with controlled fury. Which was proof enough that either version of the Modest Mouse sound is well worth hearing.

Support band Califone worked at a much different pace and volume, blending organ, guitars and occasional banjo into twangy, indie-rock lullabies. The sound was quiet, low-key (even with occasional bursts of electric guitar) and haunting.