The Fruit That Ate Itself

The Fruit That Ate Itself
EP by Modest Mouse
Released	May 13, 1997
Recorded	Dub Narcotic Studios, late 1996
Genre	Indie rock
Length	20:42
Label	K KLP63 Glacial Pace (2010 reissue)
Producer	Calvin Johnson
Modest Mouse chronology
Interstate 8 (1996) The Fruit That Ate Itself (1997) The Lonesome Crowded West (1997)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Pitchfork Media	7.8/10[2]
PopMatters	[3]
Sputnikmusic	[4]

The Fruit That Ate Itself is the third EP released by indie rock band Modest Mouse in 1997. The album was recorded at Calvin Johnson's Dub Narcotic Studios. Originally, the session was planned to record a 7" release, but it soon expanded into an EP. The track "Dirty Fingernails" also appears on Yoyo A Go Go, a compilation album released by Yoyo Records.

Upon its release, the band expressed some embarrassment with the marginal nature of some of the tracks in an interview in The Rocket, joking that Calvin Johnson would start recording every time they jingled their keys. The album features several experimental interludes, consisting of music reversed in post-production.

A limited Japanese edition was also released with 5 bonus tracks, which appeared on the band's debut single, Blue Cadet-3, Do You Connect?

Along with Sad Sappy Sucker, the EP was reissued on CD and vinyl by Glacial Pace Recordings on November 9th, 2010.^[5][2]

Reception

Sputnikmusic reviewer Tyler Fisher called the EP disappointing and noted that it was not up to the standards of the band's later work.^[4] Pitchfork called the release "abrasive" and "harrowing," but acknowledged that it was a "useful window back into the pre-Internet era of indie rock."^[2]

Track listing

1. "Sunspots" - 0:39
2. "The Waydown" - 2:30
3. "Fruit" - 0:52
4. "Dirty Fingernails" - 3:20
5. "Sunspots in the House of the Late Scapegoat" - 2:42
6. "The Fruit That Ate Itself" - 3:17
7. "Way Down" - 0:43
8. "Summer" - 3:12
9. "Karma's Payment" - 3:28

Track listing as printed

1. Untitled – 0:38
2. "The Waydown" – 2:30
3. "Dirty Fingernails" - 0:52
4. Untitled – 3:20
5. "Sunspots in the House of the Late Scapegoat" – 2:42
6. "The Fruit That Ate Itself" – 3:17
7. Untitled - 0:43
8. "Summer" – 3:12
9. "Karma's Payment" – 3:28

Japanese Bonus Tracks

1. "Blue Cadet-3, Do You Connect?" - 1:09
2. "Dukes Up" - 2:24
3. "Woodgrain" - 0:30
4. "It Always Rains On A Picnic" - 3:01
5. "5,4,3,2,1... Lipsoff" - 0:30

References