2004 re-release bonus tracks

Isaac Brock was dissatisfied with the final mix and the album artwork for The Moon & Antarctica following its original 2000 release.
According to an interview given in Filter

Filter (magazine)

FILTER, the publication that promises us that "Good music will prevail," is a seasonal American music and off-beat entertainment magazine. It features commentary and photos of up-and-coming musicians and filmmakers ranging from actors to writer-directors...

 in 2004, he intended to remix the album "on his own time, using his own money, simply to have a copy he alone could hear" when the label, Epic Records, offered to finance a new release.
The album was eventually reissued in a new mix on March 9, 2004 on a CD with new artwork and four additional tracks from a BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

 session.

2010 vinyl and CD reissues

A vinyl reissue was released on April 13, 2010 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the album. The same year also saw a remastered CD reissue. Both versions restored the original artwork and tracklist.

Reception and Reviews

Most reviews mention The Moon and Antarctica is a concept album emphasis space and the afterlife. Another common theme discussed in the reviews of the album was the question of whether or not the raw and edgy aspects of the band were diminished by the move to a major label; reviews were differing on this point with some claiming that this album was "the weirdest record yet," and other's saying that the more docile "moody" middle tracks "downplay the edgy rock that helped make them indie stars."

Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...

 ranked the album as the third best album of 2000, trailing Kid A

Kid A

Kid A is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released in October 2000 by the Parlophone label. A commercial success worldwide, Kid A went platinum in its first week of release in the United Kingdom. Despite the lack of an official single or music video as publicity, Kid A...

 by Radiohead

Radiohead

Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...

 and Ágætis Byrjun

Ágætis byrjun

Ágætis byrjun is the second album by the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós, which was released in 1999. Ágætis byrjun was recorded between the summer of 1998 to the spring of 1999 with producer Ken Thomas, and became Sigur Rós's breakthrough album, both critically and commercially...

 by Sigur Rós

Sigur Rós

Sigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock band with classicaland minimalist elements. The band is known for its ethereal sound, and frontman Jónsi Birgisson's falsetto vocals and use of bowed guitar. In January 2010, the band announced that they will be on hiatus. Since then, it has since been announced...

.
In February 2005, Pitchfork named it the seventh best album of the years 2000 through 2004.
The Moon & Antarctica was voted the sixth best album of the decade by Pitchfork in October 2009.
In 2008, betterPropaganda ranked the album number 23 in their Top 100 Albums of the 2000s. Tiny Mix Tapes

Tiny Mix Tapes

Tiny Mix Tapes is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, as well as its mix tapes generator.-History:Originally called Tiny Mixtapes Gone to Heaven and...

 placed it at number 51 on their list. The album ranked number 37 in Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...

s "The New Classics," a list of the hundred best albums from 1983-2008. Rhapsody

Rhapsody (online music service)

Rhapsody is an online music store subscription service, launched in December 2001, and available in the United States only. On April 6, 2010, Rhapsody officially declared its independence from RealNetworks. Downloaded files come with restrictions on their use, enforced by Helix, Rhapsody's version...

 ranked the album #4 on its "Alt/Indie’s Best Albums of the Decade" list.
In March 2009, the album was certified gold

RIAA certification

In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...

 by the RIAA

Recording Industry Association of America

The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...

 in the United States.

Metacritic

Metacritic

Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...

, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, reported an average score of 82 based on 22 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

Modest Mouse

• Isaac Brock
  Isaac Brock (musician)
  Isaac Brock is the lead singer, guitarist, banjoist, and songwriter for the American indie rock band Modest Mouse, as well as his side project band, Ugly Casanova...
  
   – guitars, vocals
• Jeremiah Green
  Jeremiah Green
  Jeremiah Martin Green is a founding member and drummer of the indie rock band Modest Mouse from 1993 to March 2003, and again from July 2004....
  
   – drums
• Eric Judy
  Eric Judy
  Eric Scott Judy is the bass guitarist, background vocalist, and founding member of the indie rock band Modest Mouse. He has a wife and two children, and resides in Seattle, Washington....
  
   – bass

Additional musicians

• Ben Blankenship – lap steel guitar (1,4), banjo (4), keyboards (5,11,14), guitar (8,11,15)
• Brian Deck – keyboards (6)
• Ben Massarella
  Ben Massarella
  Ben Massarella is a percussionist and drummer best known for his work with the American rock bands Califone and Red Red Meat. Massarella currently resides in Indiana....
  
   – percussion (5,7,12,15)
• Greg Ratajczak – guitar (7)
• Jeff Kennedy- Lap Steel Guitar (5)
• Tyler Riley – violin (3,5,7,9,13,14)
• Tim Rutili
  Tim Rutili
  Tim Rutili is a singer, guitarist, and keyboardist, and frontman/lyricist for the American rock band Califone. Originally from Chicago, Rutili now lives in Los Angeles. He was raised in Addison, IL. After moving into Chicago in 1988, he found success with the band Red Red Meat...
  
   – background vocals (11)
• Chiyoko Yoshida – background vocals (13)

Album

Year	Chart	Position
2000	Billboard Heatseekers	5
2000	The Billboard 200	120