Okay, we know where Modest Mouse is – they’re not exactly hiding from society, as proven by plenty of live performances throughout recent years, but I still ask: Where the hell is Modest Mouse? The band hasn’t released an original album since 2007′s We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, and it was fantastic, but also five years ago.

This fact is nothing new, but grows to be more infuriating by the day. I want new Modest Mouse, and I want it now!

Most recently, the boys were at NYC’s Governor’s Ball on June 24 with groups like Beck, Cage the Elephant, Fiona Apple and Passion Pit, but this is no surprise. The band has been biding its time between studio albums to do a few tours here and there, with the most upcoming being tomorrow in New Jersey.

Which begs the question: What exactly are they performing, if there’s no new content?

I recently read an article on The Washington Post about a performance in D.C. last month that was severely lacking, courtesy of defunct staffing (bassist Eric Judy wasn’t even there, and Johnny Marr left way back in 2009, two years after the most recent album). According to the article, the band was “stuck in 2007″ and stuck to the tracks we’d all known from the beginning.

But in April 2011, they performed two new tracks at the Sasquatch Festival in Washington called “Poison the Well” and “Lampshades on Fire,” on top of a Buddy Holly tribute track “That’ll Be the Day.”

And in May, at the Frost Revival Festival at Stanford University, they performed two more tracks, “Ansel” and “Heart of Mine.”

So we know new content is coming out, but when are we going to see it all in one nice, shiny package?

Don’t get me wrong, I love their old stuff. Love it. But I’m dying for a new LP, as I’m sure most of you are. We’ve all come to discover that Isaac Brock’s record label (from which the band records), Glacial Pace, is true to its name in terms of Modest Mouse’s progress.

The band has held that they’re definitely en-route to creating new stuff, and have been for a long time, but there are still no big details on the new LP.

But to keep you appeased, the band has a documentary out about their breakthrough 1997  album The Lonesome Crowded West, where you can see them in all their weird, retro glory and learn all about their history (see it here).

And to further entertain you, here’s the four new tracks mentioned earlier (if you haven’t already heard them). In the meantime, let’s keep patient, but give ‘em hell until we sucker out more information.