Isaac Brock wrote all of the songs on Modest Mouse’s album Strangers to Ourselves. Brock is the band’s lead singer, guitarist and principal songwriter, making the album a particularly direct expression of his writing voice.
Released on March 17, 2015, Strangers to Ourselves was Modest Mouse’s sixth studio album and their first full-length release since 2007’s We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. The long gap heightened interest in the record, which had been preceded by the single “Lampshades on Fire.”
Although Brock wrote the songs, the album was a collaborative studio project. Other musicians contributed performances and production, including former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr on several Modest Mouse recordings around this era. The songwriting credit is different from the list of people who played on or helped produce the tracks.
Listeners sometimes confuse the album’s sole songwriter with the full band’s creative contribution. Modest Mouse was founded by Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green and bassist Eric Judy, but Brock remained the central lyricist and composer on this release.