Instead, the band has released probably its most subdued yet; more focused on texture than energy. Mogwai uses the interplay of timbres as much as the melodies to make their effect, and the result is a richly nuanced album that, while lacking in the moments of unhinged glory the band specializes in, still packs an emotional wallop and an engaging listen from start to finish." - antiquiet
I think this quote shows enough to display how... well... wrong this writer at antiquiet is. Not to say that band's can't change radically at later stages in their career but even the most casual of Mogwai spectators would be hard pressed to have missed the playfully sarcastic nature of the band's titling process and make any literal connections between title and substance (did anyone expect Happy Songs For Happy People to be an outing in major key songwriting joy?). While not completely off the mark with his later comments, one does wonder whether this reviewer was in the same room while the album was playing at times. Sure, some of the album is subdued but you'd be hard pressed to find more danceable tracks anywhere in their back catalogue. I'll eat my shite if you can show me anything that matches the straightforward romping of Mexican Grand Prix, San Pedro or George Square Thatcher Death Party.
(Not really)
The reviewer from Sputnik seems to have taken a similarly lax approach to his listening, claiming it to be lacking in more inspiration than if they had stuck to post-rock-by-numbers. Not that my intention is to point out all the ignorance of other misguided reviewers (or pleasure the rectum of an assortment of already well liked bands) but it all seems rather odd. Perhaps I'm missing something. Perhaps my definitions of words like "subdued" and "vocals" are wrong. Or maybe some people just equate to no more than goose genitals.
Mindless critic bashing aside, this new Mogwai album does exhibit a different approach to previous efforts. Rather than repeating their previous mode of thematic development, here they prefer to meditate and alter rather than add, mutiply and ejaculate in a wall of noise. That's not to say the album is bereft of the staple Mogwai moments (closer You're Lionel Ritchie wouldn't be out of place on a number of previous releases) but this album demonstrates the band exploring different ways to create whilst maintaining their identity.
Unfortunately, this is not always as coherent as it could be. When considered as a whole, the juxtaposition between subdued restraint and up-beat seems sometimes at odds (San Pedro following Death Rays being the example that springs to mind). More than that though, there's just something here that stops me from feeling like I'm experiencing an engaging piece of work unfold. Yes, I'm romanticising the notion of an album as a whole but what's wrong with that?
This point aside, there is much to gain from a listen or many more. These tracks are as sonically rich as you would expect and the methods on show used to achieve this vary substantially. Despite many claiming Mogwai have been going through the motions for the last few records, it seems wholly unfair to deny them credit for the painstaking aural sculpting they put into every track.
Serious face off: I bum Mogwai big times. I sat in the booth next to several members at Nice n Sleazys once and felt like a teenage girl with a boycrush all over again. I'm not proud.
In other news, it's a sad state of affairs that when I download a .rar I sigh and feel a surge of unreasonable annoyance when I'm impolitely informed I need a password. Sure all music is free now but there is a pang of self loathing when you realised you just asked yourself "Do I really want to steal this album enough that I'm willing to spend 30 seconds looking for a password?".
And yeah, this is my first real person blog. Apologies. If it doesn't get better I'll stop. Promise.
(This is likely)
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