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Mogwai’s New Tricks: Scottish Band Shuns Formula on Latest Album

Posted by March 29th, 2011 No Comments »

Mogwai
Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
Sub Pop Records 
By Ben Allen   

Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will is the seventh album from Scottish post-rockers Mogwai.

The band made their name creating guitar-driven, sprawling, instrumental compositions of epic proportions and a number of tracks on Hardcore follow this formula, including “You’re Lionel Richie” and “White Noise.”

More intriguing, however, is when the band leaves their comfort zone behind and immerses themselves in genre explorations.

“Mexican Grand Prix” is like a weird combination of Kraftwerk and Neu! with electronic bleeps, synths and hushed vocals. “George Square Thatcher Death Party” is a classic rock indebted joyride complete with strange auto-tuned vocals.

It’s nice to see a band fifteen years into their career try some new tricks and Mogwai clearly wants to escape the formula they’re known for, but they also seem slightly confused about where to go next.

Next time around, let’s hope they can combine these new sonic explorations with the ambition and cohesion of their previous work. – (6.5/10)

Mogwai play Seattle’s Showbox at the Market on Saturday, May 7. 


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