Mogwai | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Formed by longtime friends whose goal was to create "serious guitar music," Mogwai did much more than that over the course of their decades-long career. Their early experiments in extreme dynamic shifts and long, sweeping tracks -- exemplified by their 1999 debut album, Young Team -- built on Slints legacy while defining the sound of post-rock (even though they disliked being associated with the style). As time went on, Mogwais music grew more ambitious and more diverse, spanning the electronic-enhanced introspection of 2001s Rock Action and 2014s Rave Tapes to the heavier sounds of 2008s The Hawk Is Howling and 2017s Every Countrys Sun. The bands mastery of atmosphere made them a natural fit for soundtrack work, and their scores for Zidane (2006), Les Revenants (2013), and Atomic (2016) were just as vital as their own albums. Formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1995 by guitarist/vocalist Stuart Braithwaite, guitarist Dominic Aitchison, and drummer Martin Bulloch, Mogwai added another guitarist, John Cummings, before debuting in March 1996 with the single "Tuner." A rarity in the Mogwai discography for its prominent vocals, it was followed by a split single with Dweeb titled "Angels vs. Aliens" that landed in the Top Ten on the British indie charts. After appearances on a series of compilations, Mogwai returned later in the year with the 7" "Summer," and after another early 1997 single, "New Paths to Helicon," they issued the compilation Ten Rapid. That May, they released the 4 Satin EP. Former Teenage Fanclub and Telstar Ponies member Brendan OHare joined the lineup in time to record the bands debut studio LP, Young Team. Recorded at Hamilton, Scotlands Gargleblast Studios, it featured some of Mogwais most striking examples of their sudden dynamic shifts. OHare exited a short time later -- returning to his primary projects Macrocosmica and Fiend -- to be replaced by Barry Burns. Mogwai next issued 1998s Kicking a Dead Pig, a two-disc remix collection; the No Education = No Future (Fuck the Curfew) EP appeared a few months later. In 1999, they released Come on Die Young, a set of elongated, implosive tracks. Mogwai continued to evolve in the 2000s, adding electronic and textural elements to their next album, 2001s Rock Action. Late that year, the band released the My Father, My King EP. On 2003s ironically titled Happy Songs for Happy People, the band added strings and pianos as well as synths to their palette, making it one of their lushest-sounding albums to date. Government Commissions: BBC Sessions 1996-2003 arrived early in 2005. Their fifth album, 2006s Mr. Beast, continued the reflective direction of their work in the 2000s. In the middle of the decade, Mogwai began their soundtrack career, which became an important part of their music in the years to come. The band collaborated with Clint Mansell on the soundtrack to Darren Aronofskys 2005 film The Fountain. Mogwai also crafted the score for Douglas Gordons documentary Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait, which was released in the U.K. in 2006 and in the U.S. the following year. With 2008s Batcat EP, which featured a collaboration with garage-psych legend Roky Erickson, Mogwai heralded the return of the heavier rock that dominated that years full-length The Hawk Is Howling. In 2010, Mogwai released their first live album, Special Moves, as a package with the Vincent Moon-directed concert film Burning. For 2011s Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will, the band reunited with Young Team producer Paul Savage for a more streamlined set of songs. Later that year, they followed up with an EP of unreleased material from the Hardcore sessions, Earth Division, released on Sub Pop. Late in 2012, the band issued A Wrenched Virile Lore, a collection of Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will remixes. Early the following year, the first taste of their acclaimed score to the French zombie TV series Les Revenants (which was based on the 2004 film of the same name) arrived as a four-song EP; in February 2013, the full-length album appeared. Mogwai filled the rest of the year with live performances of their Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait score in Glasgow, Manchester, and London, and with recording their eighth proper album at their Castle of Doom studio. The Krautrock and electronic-influenced Rave Tapes arrived in early 2014. At the end of the year, the band issued the Music Industry 3. Fitness Industry 1. EP, a collection of Rave Tapes remixes and previously unreleased songs. In 2015, Cummings left the band to work on his own projects. Mogwais first release after his departure was 2016s Atomic, a collection of reworked tracks from their music for Mark Cousins BBC 4 documentary Atomic: Living in Dread and Promise. Later that year, Mogwai, along with Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Gustavo Santaolalla, contributed music to Fisher Stevens and Leonardo DiCaprios climate change documentary Before the Flood. On 2017s Every Countrys Sun, the band reunited with Rock Action producer David Fridmann and balanced the electronic leanings of their 2010s output with the heavier sounds of their work in the 90s and 2000s. In 2018, Mogwai scored their first feature film, the sci-fi crime thriller KIN. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 15 Title: Ten Rapid: Collected Recordings 1996–1997 Released: 1997-08-12 Tracks: 9 Duration: 33:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Summer (04:26) 2 New Paths to Helicon, Part 2 (02:52) 3 Angels Versus Aliens (05:38) 4 I Am Not Batman (03:33) 5 Tuner (02:58) 6 Ithica 27 ϕ 9 (02:58) 7 A Place for Parks (02:15) 8 New Paths to Helicon, Part 1 (05:58) 9 End (02:45) |
 | Album: 2 of 15 Title: Young Team Released: 1997-10-21 Tracks: 10 Duration: 1:05:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Yes! I Am a Long Way From Home (05:58) 2 Like Herod (11:44) 3 Katrien (05:27) 4 Radar Maker (01:38) 5 Tracy (07:22) 6 Summer (Priority version) (03:31) 7 With Portfolio (03:13) 8 R U Still in 2 It (07:23) 9 A Cheery Wave From Stranded Youngsters (02:21) 10 Mogwai Fear Satan (16:18) |
| Young Team : Allmusic album Review : Young Team, Mogwais first full-length album fulfills the promise of their early singles and EPs, offering a complex, intertwining set of crawling instrumentals, shimmering soundscapes, and shards of noise. Picking up where Ten Rapid left off, Mogwai use the sheer length of an album to their advantage, recording a series of songs that meld together -- its easy to forget where one song begins and the other ends. The record itself takes its time to begin, as the sound of chiming processed guitars and murmured sampled vocals floats to the surface. Throughout the album, the sound of the band keeps shifting, and its not just through explosions of noise -- Mogwai isnt merely jamming, they have a planned vision, subtly texturing their music with small, telling details. When the epic "Mogwai Fears Satan" draws the album to a close, it becomes clear that the band has expanded the horizons of post-rock, creating a record of sonic invention and emotional force that sounds unlike anything their guitar-based contemporaries have created. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 15 Title: Kicking a Dead Pig: Mogwai Songs Remixed Released: 1998-05-18 Tracks: 13 Duration: 1:46:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Like Herod (Hood remix) (06:57) 2 Helicon 2 (Max Tundra remix) (07:20) 3 Gwai on 45 (Arab Strap remix) (08:29) 4 A Cheery Wave From Stranded Youngsters (Third Eye Foundation Tet Offensive remix) (05:09) 5 Like Herod (Alec Empires Face the Future remix) (05:15) 1 Summer (Klutes Weird Winter mix) (06:33) 2 R U Still in 2 It? (DJ Q remix) (08:17) 3 Tracy (Kid Locos Playing With the Young Team remix) (08:34) 4 Mogwai Fear Satan (Mogwai remix) (09:47) 1 Mogwai Fear Satan (My Bloody Valentine remix) (16:10) 2 Mogwai Fear Satan (Mogwai remix) (09:47) 3 Mogwai Fear Satan (μ-Ziq remix) (07:21) 4 Mogwai Fear Satan (Surgeon remix) (06:25) |
 | Album: 4 of 15 Title: Come On Die Young Released: 1999-03-29 Tracks: 29 Duration: 2:14:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Punk Rock: (02:08) 2 Cody (06:33) 3 Helps Both Ways (04:53) 4 Year 2000 Non-Compliant Cardia (03:23) 5 Kappa (04:48) 6 Waltz for Aidan (03:40) 7 May Nothing but Happiness Come Through Your Door (08:25) 1 Oh! How the Dogs Stack Up (02:03) 2 Ex-Cowboy (09:09) 3 Chocky (09:19) 4 Christmas Steps (10:36) 5 Punk Rock/Puff Daddy/ANtICHRISt (02:14) 1 Nick Drake (03:15) 2 Waltz for Aidan (Chem19 demo) (03:39) 3 Christmas Steps (Chem19 demo) (?) 4 Rollerball (Chem19 demo) (03:51) 5 7-25 (Chem19 demo) (?) 6 [untitled] (06:07) 7 Quiet Stereo Dee (04:06) 8 Arundel (02:58) 1 Punk Rock: (CaVa sessions) (02:12) 2 Ex-Cowboy (CaVa sessions) (09:12) 3 Spoon Test (CaVa sessions) (06:28) 4 Punk Rock: (CaVa sessions) (02:12) 5 Helicon 2 (live at CaVa Church) (03:04) 6 Satchel Panzer (Cava Church live) (01:23) 7 Kappa (live at CaVa Church) (04:38) 8 Helps Both Ways (05:21) 9 Hugh Dallas (08:32) |
| Come On Die Young : Allmusic album Review : "Too much, too soon" is a tattered rock & roll cliché, but it continues to tell the tale of many young bands, such as Glasgows acclaimed post-rock collective Mogwai. Usually, the phrase is hauled out to describe an intoxicated downward spiral by bands that had too much success all at once, but Mogwai suffered too much praise -- too many accolades from critics, too much reverence from underground hipsters. The singles compilation Ten Rapid and the debut Young Team deserved all the acclaim they earned, but a funny thing happened while Mogwai was recording their much-anticipated second album, ironically titled Come on Die Young -- the band went stale, producing a lethargic trawl through post-Slint and Sonic Youth territory. Where their free-form noise improvisations were utterly enthralling on their earlier records, the ebb and flow is entirely too familiar throughout Come on Die Young, largely because they follow the same pattern on each song. And each cut blends into the next, creating the impression of one endless track that teeters between deliberately dreamy crawls and random bursts of noise. Granted, that was the blueprint for Young Team, but there is little dynamism anywhere on Come on Die Young. Mogwai repeat the same riffs with the same inflection, never pushing themselves toward new sonic territory, yet never hitting a mesmerizing trance. It feels like a degraded photocopy of their earlier records -- its possible to discern the initial spark that made them fascinating, but this current incarnation is too smudged and muddy to hold attention on its own terms. Perhaps Come on Die Young wouldnt have seemed as disappointing if it hadnt arrived on the wave of hype and expectation, but the truth is, it pales in comparison to their own work. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 15 Title: Rock Action Released: 2001-04-04 Tracks: 10 Duration: 59:56 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Sine Wave (04:57) 2 Take Me Somewhere Nice (06:59) 3 O I Sleep (00:57) 4 Dial: Revenge (03:28) 5 You Don’t Know Jesus (08:04) 6 Robot Chant (01:05) 7 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong (09:33) 8 Secret Pint (13:37) 9 Untitled (07:16) 10 Close Encounters (03:55) |
| Rock Action : Allmusic album Review : Sripping away much of the noodling and noise of their earlier work in favor of tighter structures, more immediate melodies, and vocals, on Rock Action Mogwai recaptures the excitement that surrounded their first releases. Like so many groups stuck with the post-rock tag, Mogwai needed a way to expand beyond the term without changing their sound completely, and aided by guests like producer Dave Fridmann and Super Furry Animals Gruff Rhys, theyve found it. Rock Action incorporates bristling distortion, propulsive drums, and electronic textures similar to Tortoises Standards -- particularly on the opening track "Sine Wave" -- but the albums most remarkable moments revisit and reinvent more traditional sounds. Buoyed by lush string arrangements and Fridmanns detailed, warm production, the brooding ballads "Take Me Somewhere Nice" and "Dial: Revenge" couldnt be further from "rock action," but they display the albums refreshing restraint and immediacy. In particular, "Dial: Revenge" -- so named because "dial" is the Welsh word for "revenge" -- benefits from Rhys emotive yet cryptic vocals in his mother tongue, but the general emphasis on vocals adds to the albums organic, emotive feel. Nowhere is this more evident than the nine-minute epic "2 Rights Make One Wrong": With its lush layers of brass, strings, banjo, guitars, and vocals, it sounds like the rock-oriented cousin of Jim ORourkes pocket symphonies. Meanwhile, "You Dont Know Jesus" uses its eight-minute length to reaffirm that the group is still at the top of its game when it comes to guitar-driven catharsis. "Secret Pint" sends the album out on a serene note, proving that in the proper hands, the quietest ballad is just as commanding as the loudest rock action; Rock Action shows that Mogwai have mastered both styles. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 15 Title: Happy Songs for Happy People Released: 2003-05-21 Tracks: 9 Duration: 41:53 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Hunted by a Freak (04:16) 2 Moses? I Amn’t (03:01) 3 Kids Will Be Skeletons (05:27) 4 Killing All the Flies (04:35) 5 Boring Machines Disturbs Sleep (03:06) 6 Ratts of the Capital (08:26) 7 Golden Porsche (02:49) 8 I Know You Are but What Am I? (05:17) 9 Stop Coming to My House (04:53) |
| Happy Songs for Happy People : Allmusic album Review : At first glance, the album title Happy Songs for Happy People seems almost as ironic as the name of their previous album, Rock Action. After listening to the album, however, its apparent that its title isnt just meant as a joke. Though "happy" isnt necessarily the first word that springs to mind when describing the bands intricate, brooding style, it is a word and emotion that is both simple and profound, much like the direction Mogwais music takes here. Happy Songs for Happy People takes the focus and restraint of Rock Action to greater lengths, but it never feels like a rehash of their previous work. The palette of sounds the band uses -- which includes rolling guitars and pianos, swelling strings, persuasive but un-showy drumming, and occasional forays into distortion and electronics -- is a relatively small one, but the band uses it wisely on tracks as diverse as the lovely, understated "Kids Will Be Skeletons" (arguably the "happiest" song on the album) and the gloriously dense finale, "Stop Coming to My House," which piles layers and layers of distorted drums, guitars, and synths atop each other. Mogwai also employs its usual quietly beautiful/explosively noisy dynamic formula expertly, particularly on the gorgeous "Killing All the Flies," which feels much longer (in a good way) than four and a half minutes. Old-school Mogwai fans disappointed by the relative brevity of most of Happy Songs for Happy Peoples songs should be pleased by "Ratts of the Capital," which, over the course of eight minutes, nearly reaches the epic proportions of the Young Team/Come on Die Young era. Once again, though, its not merely a return to their old sound: The track begins with darkly chiming guitars and xylophones and then builds to a crushing climax, but even its heaviest moments are leavened with beauty, and its nearly symmetrical rise and fall make it fit perfectly with the rest of the album. Fortunately, though, the new techniques Mogwai explores on this album are just as satisfying, if not more so, than the bands familiar ones: "Golden Porsche"s richly mellow bass and pianos sound more akin to Americana than post-rock, while "I Know You Are But What Am I?"s shuffling, piston-like rhythm and twinkling synths are both brooding and childlike. A strangely dreamy, reverent feel winds through the album, surfacing on the Spiritualized-esque "Boring Machines Disturbs Sleep" and "Moses? I Amnt," which has a buzzing synth bass so deep it makes your brain vibrate. In some ways, Happy Songs for Happy People is almost too consistent -- by the time its second half rolls around, its easy to take its dense beauty for granted. The upside is that its one of those rare albums where youre convinced that youve just heard the song that is going to be your favorite -- until you hear the next song, and then the song after that. With Happy Songs for Happy People, Mogwai gets to have it both ways -- its ironic and sincere, concise and expansive, challenging and accessible, and its one of the bands best albums, no two ways about it. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 15 Title: Government Commissions: BBC Sessions 1996–2003 Released: 2005-02-21 Tracks: 10 Duration: 1:07:38 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Hunted by a Freak (04:09) 2 R U Still in 2 It (06:18) 3 New Paths to Helicon, Part II (02:54) 4 Kappa (04:25) 5 Cody (06:08) 6 Like Herod (18:30) 7 Secret Pint (04:45) 8 Superheroes of BMX (07:30) 9 New Paths to Helicon, Part I (08:12) 10 Stop Coming to My House (04:42) |
| Government Commissions: BBC Sessions 1996–2003 : Allmusic album Review : Government Commissions: BBC Sessions 1996 -- 2003 collects some of Mogwais best performances on John Peel and Steve Lamacqs programs. The compilations track selections are inspired: taking two songs from each of the bands albums (except Rock Action, from which only "Secret Pint" appears here) and a handful of tracks from their mid-90s EPs, Government Commissions gives a good idea of how Mogwais sound evolved. Pieces like 4 Satins "Superheroes of BMX" and "New Paths to Helicon Pt I" reflect the bands spare, elongated early work, while "Hunted By a Freak" and "Stop Coming to My House," both of which are from 2003s Happy Songs for Happy People and bookend Government Commissions, are lush, dense and shimmering. The albums sequencing also underscores the bands mastery of dynamics. It builds from subtly taut tracks like "R U Still In 2 It" and "Kappa" to the albums centerpiece, an 18-minute version of "Like Herod" that shows off the songs tense quiet and beautifully ugly guitar mayhem, and then winds down with more reflective songs. The albums live atmosphere, which includes voice-overs from the much-missed Peel, adds to its organic ebb and flow, which is all the more remarkable considering that it spans seven years worth of performances. Though die-hard Mogwai fans are probably the most likely to pick this up, Government Commissions works so well that it could also double as a Mogwai greatest-hits collection -- something that cant be said about many other live compilations. | ||
 | Album: 8 of 15 Title: Mr. Beast Released: 2006-01 Tracks: 10 Duration: 43:02 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Auto Rock (04:18) 2 Glasgow Mega-Snake (03:35) 3 Acid Food (03:40) 4 Travel Is Dangerous (04:01) 5 Team Handed (03:58) 6 Friend of the Night (05:30) 7 Emergency Trap (03:31) 8 Folk Death 95 (03:34) 9 I Chose Horses (05:13) 10 We’re No Here (05:39) |
| Mr. Beast : Allmusic album Review : Possibly the most accessible yet sophisticated album Mogwai has released, Mr. Beast strips away most of the electronic embellishment of their recent work in favor of a back-to-basics sound that returns to and expands on the approach they pioneered on Young Team. Mr. Beast is also a surprisingly spontaneous-sounding album -- in the best possible sense, its freshness makes it feel like a recorded practice session and also helps give relatively delicate pieces like "Team Handed" the same amount of impact that heavy, searing tracks like the closer, "Were No Here," have. Interestingly, more of Mr. Beast tends toward the former kind of song than the latter; "Friend of the Night," "Emergency Trap," and the glorious, slow-burning album opener, "Auto-Rock," give the album an unusually refined, even elegant feel that is underscored by the prominent use of piano and lap steel in the arrangements. On songs like "Acid Food" and the magnificent "I Chose Horses" -- which features cavernously deep bass and spoken word vocals by Tetsuya Fukagawa from the Japanese hardcore band Envy -- Mr. Beast feels downright pastoral. However, Mogwai doesnt give up their heavy side entirely, as the aforementioned "Were No Here" and "Glasgow Mega-Snake" show; any song that has either "mega" or "snake" in the title should rock, and this one does, kicking off with a claustrophobic snarl of guitars that makes this one of the most intense pieces Mogwai has ever recorded. Mr. Beast manages to be immediate without sounding dumbed-down.. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 15 Title: The Hawk Is Howling Released: 2008-08-23 Tracks: 10 Duration: 1:03:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead (06:44) 2 Batcat (05:24) 3 Danphe and the Brain (05:17) 4 Local Authority (04:14) 5 The Sun Smells Too Loud (06:58) 6 Kings Meadow (04:41) 7 I Love You, I’m Going to Blow Up Your School (07:33) 8 Scotland’s Shame (08:00) 9 Thank You Space Expert (07:53) 10 The Precipice (06:41) |
| The Hawk Is Howling : Allmusic album Review : With each album, Mogwai discovers new ways of balancing the power and subtlety of their music. On The Hawk Is Howling, the band returns to its roots, working with producer Andy Miller for the first time in a decade and delivering its first set of completely instrumental songs in several albums time. This is the most massive Mogwais music has felt in quite awhile -- and for a band that turns in expansive pieces as regularly as they do, thats saying something. "Im Jim Morrison, Im Dead" opens the album with shades of Mr. Beasts sparkling beauty, but it uses every second of its nearly seven minutes to more climactic effect than the previous albums subdued approach: beginning with intertwining pianos and keyboards, it teeters on the edge between beautiful and ominous, ratcheting up the tension until the song finally dies out with a violin that bleeds into feedback. That still doesnt quite prepare listeners for the wallop that "Batcat" -- which is The Hawk Is Howlings lead single -- packs. Its no secret that Mogwai loves metal and has never shied away from heaviness in their own music, but even their most churning workouts seemed to hover; "Batcat" hits the ground hard, and with a blunter impact, than any of their previous guitar workouts. As fantastic as "Batcat" is, it represents The Hawk Is Howling only as proof of how wide-ranging the albums sound is. "The Sun Smells Too Loud" is aptly trippy and surprisingly poppy, with wispy electronic textures and a huge rhythm section that gives the song almost planetary heft; and though "Daphne and the Brain" doesnt hit any peaks or valleys, its rolling majesty and shadowy guitar melodies are still awe-inspiring. Between these major statements, The Hawk Is Howling takes breathers with smaller-scale tracks, like the glittering "Kings Meadow," that reveal their intricacy with repeated listens. The albums second half expands on that subtlety in different ways: Though the Heathers-quoting "I Love You, Im Going to Blow Up Your School" climaxes in a skewering guitar solo, its preceded by six minutes of artful counterpoint and jazz-tinged drumming; "Scotlands Shame" takes the opposite approach, with strong rhythms propelling a pensive melody for a uniquely mournful yet hard-hitting result. These tracks demand close listening, which makes "The Precipice"s slow-burning tribal rhythms and swarming guitars even more dramatic as the albums final statement. At first, its tempting to want all of The Hawk Is Howling to be as obviously powerful as its biggest tracks, but with time it reveals itself as one of Mogwais most masterful blends of delicacy and strength. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 15 Title: Special Moves Released: 2010-08-23 Tracks: 11 Duration: 1:14:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead (06:02) 2 Friend of the Night (05:30) 3 Hunted by a Freak (04:07) 4 Mogwai Fear Satan (11:43) 5 Cody (06:11) 6 You Don’t Know Jesus (05:31) 7 I Know You Are but What Am I? (04:05) 8 I Love You, Im Going to Blow Up Your School (07:57) 9 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong (09:06) 10 Like Herod (10:38) 11 Glasgow Megasnake (03:51) |
| Special Moves : Allmusic album Review : For a band whose epic compositions and dramatic dynamics play so well in concert, its somewhat surprising that Mogwai didn’t release an official live album until 2010s Special Moves. For fans who have seen the band live and novices alike, the set was worth the wait. Recorded at one of the bands 2009 Brooklyn shows, Special Moves is beautifully mixed, balancing all of their onstage elements carefully while capturing the sheer power of their concerts; there’s also just enough audience noise to remind listeners that they’re playing in front of a devoted crowd. This sense of balance extends to the rest of the album, from its even-handed mix of songs from each of Mogwais albums, to its equal measure of introspective and bombastic moments. True to the band, Special Moves setlist is somewhat willful; it’s not just a playlist of Mogwais best-known songs. Happy Songs for Happy Peoples "Hunted by a Freak" is as close as the band gets to playing a hit single, a relatively concise moment in a generous set dominated by expansive performances. The two biggest showpieces come from the band’s first proper album Young Team: "Fear Satan," which the band plays after theyve warmed up a bit, goes from pin-drop silence to massive walls of guitar over the course of 12 minutes, and "Like Herod," a dark, angular, 11-minute workout that, in retrospect, shows that Mogwai have been big metal fans throughout their existence. Meanwhile, Mr. Beasts "Friend of the Night" and Rock Actions "2 Rights Make 1 Wrong" demonstrate how the bands gentler moments blossom in a live setting. The show ends with the literal bang of "Glasgow Megasnake," a three-minute reminder that Mogwai excels at short and long-form rocking. While nothing can capture the true feeling of being flattened by one of Mogwais shows except attending one, Special Moves is still a great live document. Coupled with Vincent Moons moody black-and-white concert film Burning (which is worth the price of admission for "Batcat" alone), its the complete Mogwai concert experience. | ||
 | Album: 11 of 15 Title: Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will Released: 2011-02-02 Tracks: 10 Duration: 53:01 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 White Noise (05:03) 2 Mexican Grand Prix (05:17) 3 Rano Pano (05:14) 4 Death Rays (06:00) 5 San Pedro (03:27) 6 Letters to the Metro (04:40) 7 George Square Thatcher Death Party (03:59) 8 How to Be a Werewolf (06:22) 9 Too Raging to Cheers (04:29) 10 You’re Lionel Richie (08:29) |
| Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will : Allmusic album Review : By the 2010s, post-rock had been around long enough that the style’s artists could look back to their roots. Mogwai does that on Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will, from the title’s bone-dry humor to the band’s reunion with Young Team producer Paul Savage. The musical DNA of Young Team -- and its definitive track “Like Herod” in particular -- is everywhere on Hardcore Will Never Die, informing the doomy coda of “Too Raging to Cheers” as well as opening track “White Noise”s graceful melodic arcs, which lure the listener in rather than making a grand statement. Indeed, the album carries much of its emotional weight in its keyboard melodies, whether it’s the subtle soar of “Death Rays” or the more mournful tones of “Letters to the Metro.” Compared to the epic sprawl of The Hawk Is Howling, Hardcore Will Never Die feels simpler and more structured. The album’s rock songs, including “Mexican Grand Prix” and “San Pedro,” feel almost like a theme Mogwai returns to throughout the album, with driving motorik rhythms and precipitous riffing that get heads nodding vigorously, if not exactly banging. Mogwai tease listeners with tantalizing glimpses of their full power as the album progresses with “Rano Pano”s shimmering majesty and “How to Be a Werewolf”s epic solo, but they save Hardcore Will Never Dies definitive onslaught for last. “You’re Lionel Richie” combines the driest wit with the heaviest rock -- a quintessential Mogwai move -- as it builds from quasi-classical guitar figures to a scorching climax. As impressive as this moment is, it underscores how much smaller and subtler this album is than what came before it. While the album is far from rote, Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will certainly feels familiar; it may not be as immediately impressive as some Mogwai albums, but its back-to-basics approach makes it another fine addition to their body of work. | ||
 | Album: 12 of 15 Title: iTunes Festival: London 2011 Released: 2011-08-26 Tracks: 6 Duration: 36:19 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Death Rays (05:59) 2 How to Be a Werewolf (06:10) 3 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong (09:19) 4 Rano Pano (05:12) 5 Mexican Grand Prix (05:21) 6 Auto Rock (04:18) |
 | Album: 13 of 15 Title: Rave Tapes Released: 2014-01-14 Tracks: 10 Duration: 49:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Heard About You Last Night (05:24) 2 Simon Ferocious (04:49) 3 Remurdered (06:25) 4 Hexon Bogon (02:35) 5 Repelish (03:56) 6 Master Card (03:57) 7 Deesh (05:33) 8 Blues Hour (06:17) 9 No Medicine for Regret (05:40) 10 The Lord Is Out of Control (04:23) |
| Rave Tapes : Allmusic album Review : During the time they were making Rave Tapes, Mogwais flair for soundtracks was being celebrated: the band began 2013 with the release of their brilliant score for Les Revenants, the cryptic French TV show about the undead, and they were just about to play a series of performances of their music for Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait as accompaniment to the movie. All this film-related activity may have inspired Rave Tapes restraint (the fact that the band had a narrow window of time in which to record the album probably contributed to it as well). For much of the album, Mogwai trades majesty for economy, focusing on a few motifs that they combine and recombine in an almost modular fashion. Barry Burns bubbling, gurgling synth is chief among these elements, especially on "Simon Ferocious," where it locks in with rolling beats and knotty guitar work with a precision that stops just short of clinical. Hearing the band put together these song-puzzles offers a more cerebral kind of listening experience than Les Revenants spare, mournful dread or Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Wills rock fury; even when Mogwai turn up the volume, they remain aloof. Some of Les Revenants eeriness informs "Remurdered"s cold-blooded electro-rock, while "Hexon Bogon" and "Master Card" coil heavy riffs upon themselves until theyre about to snap. As impressive as Rave Tapes rockers are, the albums heart lies in subtler tracks like "Heard About You Last Night," a dreamy prelude that makes the most of the delicacy Mogwai has excelled at since their early days. Similarly, the quietly anthemic "Blues Hour" and vocoder-driven "The Lord Is Out of Control" hark back to the muted beauty of Mr. Beast and Come On Die Youngs implosive minimalism. Rave Tapes takes a while to hit its stride, but it delivers plenty of moments to keep fans intrigued once it does. | ||
 | Album: 14 of 15 Title: Central Belters Released: 2015-10-23 Tracks: 34 Duration: 3:39:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Summer (04:26) 2 New Paths to Helicon, Part 1 (05:58) 3 Cody (06:33) 4 Christmas Steps (10:36) 5 I Know You Are but What Am I? (05:17) 6 Hunted by a Freak (04:16) 7 Stanley Kubrick (04:17) 8 Take Me Somewhere Nice (06:59) 9 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong (09:33) 10 Mogwai Fear Satan (16:18) 1 Auto Rock (04:18) 2 Travel Is Dangerous (04:01) 3 Friend of the Night (05:30) 4 We’re No Here (05:39) 5 I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead (06:44) 6 The Sun Smells Too Loud (06:58) 7 Batcat (05:24) 8 Mexican Grand Prix (05:17) 9 Rano Pano (05:14) 10 How to Be a Werewolf (06:22) 11 Wizard Motor (04:41) 12 Remurdered (06:25) 13 The Lord Is Out of Control (04:23) 14 Teenage Exorcists (03:29) 1 Hugh Dallas (08:32) 2 Half Time (06:49) 3 Burn Girl Prom Queen (08:31) 4 Devil Rides (04:00) 5 Hasenheide (03:29) 6 Tell Everybody That I Love Them (04:42) 7 Earth Division (06:02) 8 Hungry Face (02:24) 9 D to E (06:02) 10 My Father My King (20:13) |
| Central Belters : Allmusic album Review : As Mogwai closed in on their 20th anniversary, they released Central Belters, a sprawling career retrospective whose title riffed on the Central Belt region of Scotland they called home. Though the collection spans 34 tracks in 219 minutes, there are some unexpected omissions: the bands first full-length, Young Team, is represented only by its imposing closing track, "Mogwai Fear Satan," while another of the albums definitive songs, "Like Herod," is nowhere to be found. Quirks like these may frustrate completists, but they offer a more unique viewpoint of the bands body of work as they evolved from Slint-worshiping post-rockers into something more complex and eclectic. The first two-thirds of Central Belters traces this evolution, from 1996s debut single "Summer" to 2014s "Teenage Exorcists," one of the bands poppiest and most vocal-driven song to date (indeed, the collection features notably more songs with vocals than the average Mogwai album). In between, the collection touches on highlights such as "New Paths to Helicon, Pt. 1," "Christmas Steps," and "Hunted by a Freak," one of the tracks that heralded the bands increasingly electronic output in the 2000s and 2010s. Central Belters includes some fine examples of this direction in "The Sun Smells Too Loud," "How to Be a Werewolf," and "Remurdered" and also reflects the bands ongoing passion for symphonic grandeur ("Im Jim Morrison, Im Dead") and metal ("Batcat"). The sets final third gathers B-sides, highlights from the bands soundtrack work, and other loose ends, although "D to E" is the collections only previously unreleased track. Standouts include "Hungry Face" from the Les Revenants soundtrack, the Roky Erickson cameo on "The Devil Rides," and, of course, the perennial Mogwai concert finale "My Father My King," which the band transformed from a traditional Jewish folk song into a 20-minute epic. Overall, even if Central Belters doesnt include every definitive Mogwai song, its still a comprehensive portrait that captures the nuances of their sound over the years. | ||
 | Album: 15 of 15 Title: Every Country’s Sun Released: 2017-09-01 Tracks: 28 Duration: 1:52:13 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Coolverine (06:16) 2 Party in the Dark (04:02) 3 Brain Sweeties (04:44) 4 Crossing the Road Material (06:58) 5 aka 47 (04:16) 6 20 Size (04:44) 1 1000 Foot Face (04:31) 2 Don’t Believe the Fife (06:23) 3 Battered at a Scramble (04:03) 4 Old Poisons (04:30) 5 Every Country’s Sun (05:37) 1 20 Size (demo) (?) 2 1000 Foot Face (demo) (?) 3 Dont Believe the Fife (demo) (?) 4 Battered at a Scramble (demo) (?) 5 Old Poisons (demo) (?) 6 Every Countrys Sun (demo) (?) 1 Coolverine (06:16) 2 Party in the Dark (04:02) 3 Brain Sweeties (04:44) 4 Crossing the Road Material (06:58) 5 aka 47 (04:16) 6 20 Size (04:44) 7 1000 Foot Face (04:31) 8 Don’t Believe the Fife (06:23) 9 Battered at a Scramble (04:03) 10 Old Poisons (04:30) 11 Every Country’s Sun (05:37) |
| Every Country’s Sun : Allmusic album Review : Mogwai rang in their 22nd year of existence with Every Countrys Sun, their first non-soundtrack album since 2014s Rave Tapes and their first without founding guitarist John Cummings. Despite the lineup change, there are no drastic differences to the bands approach, and they spend most of the album expressing the extremes of their minimalism and maximalism. They bookend the set with songs that are quintessentially Mogwai: the slow-burning opener, "Coolverine," begins with shimmering keyboards and warm bass before layers of guitar, synths, and brass take the track to the saturation point, while the deep drones and explosive guitars of "Every Countrys Sun" close the album with a blaze of cathartic glory. In between, Mogwai offer cerebral pleasures like the aptly named "Brain Sweeties," a sonic sculpture that sets a circular guitar motif spinning above perpetually tumbling drums and gently arcing synths, and "aka 47," a strangely shifting mood piece for analog synth and pedal steel that reaffirms why the bands film scores are so compelling. Elsewhere, they provide more visceral satisfaction with "Party in the Dark"s fizzy alt-rock and the seething guitar workout "Battered at a Scramble"; its no coincidence that this track is reminiscent of Rock Action, an album that also featured Every Countrys Sun producer Dave Fridmann. Just as Mogwai maintain the tension of most of these songs for as long as possible, they also save the albums biggest climaxes for last, as on the furious "Old Poisons." As effective as the bands loud-quiet juxtapositions can be, there are times when Every Countrys Sun feels more like an exercise in pacing and dynamics than purposeful expression: "20 Size" is all climax, while the spacy ramble "Crossing the Road Material" lacks any peaks. Moments like these are reminders that theres a fine line between repeating and elaborating on a bands style, especially when that band has had as distinctive and lengthy a career as Mogwais. Nevertheless, Every Countrys Sun has enough great moments to please fans. | ||