Sad Sappy Sucker

Sad Sappy Sucker is a 2001 album released by alternative rock band Modest Mouse. Originally slated to be Modest Mouse's debut album, Sad Sappy Sucker was shelved for several years until its eventual release in 2001, on the heels of the popularity of The Moon & Antarctica. Several songs were recorded at Olympia, Washington's Dub Narcotic Studios. The record was officially released by K Records on April 24, 2001, available in both Compact Disc and vinyl LP, and containing nine additional tracks added to the original track listing of 15 songs.

Sad Sappy Sucker
Studio album by
Modest Mouse
ReleasedApril 24, 2001
RecordedNovember 12, 1994 – 1995
GenreIndie rock
Length34:34
LabelK Glacial Pace (2010 reissue)
ProducerCalvin Johnson
Modest Mouse chronology
The Moon & Antarctica
(2000)		 Sad Sappy Sucker
(2001)		 Everywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks
(2001)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(55/100)[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Blender[1]
Pitchfork Media(7/10)[3]
PopMatters[1][4]
(Reissue)[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]

Track listing

The first 15 tracks make up the original album Sad Sappy Sucker. Tracks 16-24 come from Isaac Brock's answering machine — he originally had a "Call to Dial a Song" service, similar to They Might Be Giants' Dial-A-Song.

  1. "Worms vs. Birds" – 2:13
  2. "Four Fingered Fisherman" – 2:27
  3. "Wagon Ride Return" – 0:48
  4. "Classy Plastic Lumber" (unlisted on back cover) – 2:03
  5. "From Point A to Point B (∞)" – 2:56
  6. "Path of Least Resistance" – 0:28
  7. "It Always Rains on a Picnic" – 3:01
  8. "Dukes Up" – 2:24
  9. "Think Long" – 1:09
  10. "Every Penny Fed Car" – 3:07
  11. "Mice Eat Cheese" – 2:26
  12. "Race Car Grin You Ain't No Landmark" – 1:13
  13. "Red Hand Case" – 2:37
  14. "Secret Agent X-9" – 1:12
  15. "Blue Cadet-3, Do You Connect?" – 1:09

Bonus Tracks

  1. "Call to Dial a Song" – 0:31
  2. "5-4-3-2-1 Lisp Off" – 0:30
  3. "Woodgrain" – 0:30
  4. "BMX Crash" – 0:28
  5. "Sucker Bet" – 1:19
  6. "Black Blood & Old Newagers" – 0:29
  7. "SWY" – 0:29
  8. "Australopithecus" – 0:29
  9. "Sin Gun Chaser" – 0:27

Critical reception

Sad Sappy Sucker received mixed reviews from critics. On the review aggregate site Metacritic, the album has a score of 55 out of 100, indicating "Mixed or average reviews". Pitchfork gave the album a 7 out of 10 on release,[3] but after a reissue gave it a 7.2.[7] PopMatters was slightly less praising, stating that "taken on its own merits, Sad Sappy Sucker is pretty good, but the out-and-out strangeness of it all and the fact that it doesn’t hold together as a real album may throw off the uninitiated (and who can blame them?)."[4] Stereogum named it the worst Modest Mouse album, stating "the album is as grating and undercooked as indie rock debuts come, full of indulgent studio experiments, half-assed sketches, and tunes that sound like a generic sadcore band's demo cassette in high-speed dub mode....Sad Sappy Sucker asks the question: 'How many Built To Spills do we need?'"

Charting positions

Album
Year Chart Position
2001 Independent albums 21

References
  1. Critic reviews at Metacritic
  2. AllMusic review
  3. Pitchfork review
  4. PopMatters review 1
  5. PopMatters review 2
  6. Rolling Stone Album Guide
  7. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14862-sad-sappy-sucker-the-fruit-that-ate-itself-ep/
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