This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About is the debut studio album by American rock band Modest Mouse. It was released on April 16, 1996, through Up Records.

Musical style

This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About is an indie rock album that incorporates elements of punk rock, grunge, heavy metal, twee pop, surf rock, jazz, and chamber music. Ryan Schreiber of Pitchfork remarked that Modest Mouse show influence from Pixies and Jane's Addiction. with certain elements on the album also drawing comparisons to Built to Spill and Pink Floyd. Lyrically, many of the album's tracks focus on traveling by automobile and the loneliness associated with rural life.

Critical reception

The Albuquerque Tribune called the album "intricate, brainy pop sneaking back into old-time ballads, honky-tonk slide and folk pluck." Robert Christgau remarked that Modest Mouse are "so insularly indie they're incomprehensible to anyone who hasn't been softened up by Wowee Zowee and the Meat Puppets".

Track listing

Vinyl edition

Personnel

Modest Mouse

Additional musicians

Other