On THE FRUIT THAT ATE ITSELF, Modest Mouse's sound--which combines avant squall, punk-wave grooves, and indie rock--is spare and angry. Individual tracks of backwards guitar are sequenced through the album, introducing the songs, which feature bobbing, bass-and-drums-dominated structures topped by Isaac Brock's adenoidal vocals and wiry guitar lines. Shifting dynamics and overlapping talking/singing/screaming (such as on the dreamy, psychotic "Dirty Fingernails") recall the Pixies, the Fall, and early Pavement. But Modest Mouse alight on something intriguing here, especially in the way the band turns its angst-filled rock into almost-danceable jams. Produced by Beat Happening leader Calvin Johnson, the record bears the indie stamp of Johnson's other work and something of the ragtag funk of his Dub Narcotic Sound System. The jerky, seesaw rhythm of the wonderfully titled "Sunspots in the House of the Late Scapegoat," and the chant-like vocals of "Karma's Payment," which move over march-time drums and one-string guitar riffs, create mesmerizing, groove-heavy effects. Less directly rock-oriented than some of its other releases, THE FRUIT THAT ATE ITSELF shows Modest Mouse to be a searching, progressive band.