On the band’s tenth record, they show no signs of stopping or even slowing down their iconic post-rock sound.
Mogwai is an exciting band; they started with a heavy, aggressive sound that turned into these gargantuan songs that make the listener feel like just completing a song as a victory against some monster. These songs are dense with post-rock and electronic elements to create a darkness that feels impenetrable. Though if you focus and give this record a shot, many of the moments on this record will provide levity to the listener.
The opening track builds from this quiet passage and grows and grows into what I described earlier, a beast of a track and a perfect way to start an album. Several tracks follow the crescendo format of many post-rock albums, but something about this record just spoke to me that many albums in this sub-genre fail to do. Even moments that I thought I would despise turn into beautiful pieces. Like on Here We, Here We, Here We Go Forever, the vocoding on the vocals is almost ear-grading, but the band turns it into something gorgeous.
I’m in awe of this record as a whole. The majority of the tracks may start small but grow into these magnificent pieces that any fan of music can appreciate.
Though not every song is as wonderful as others. Ritchie Sacramento is one of the few songs on the record to have vocals that can be distinguished, and it doesn’t sound great to me. Or Ceiling Granny, which doesn’t sound bad, but it’s a much weaker song than the two beside it. It sounds like a high school band compared to a band with decades of experience under their belts.
Overall, it’s an excellent record, and I highly recommend this to any fan of music that can ignore some minor missteps.
Favorite Tracks: To The Bin My Friend, Tonight We Vacate Earth, Here We, Drive the Nail, Fuck Off Money, Midnight Flit, Pat Stains, It’s What I Want To Do, Mum
Rating: 8/10
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