Albums of 2011 : Numbers 18 and 17

18 - Mogwai : Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will

It's hard to think of Mogwai now as veterans of the post-rock scene, and even of the Scottish music scene as a whole, but almost 15 years on from debut Young Team that's the reality. Following a rather hit and miss period which produced a couple of below-par studio albums but also a thrilling live record, Hardcore came across like an overview of the various 'Gwai guises over the years - thunderous riffs, noise, quietly beautiful passages, and even some straight-ahead indie rock. More than that, it was definite return to form, and by adding a second disc of orchestral magnificence and then the Earth Division EP, 2o11 was Mogwai's finest year for some time.



17 - Low : C'Mon

Another band in the veteran category, Duluth's finest have been going quietly at it since 1994, and with C'Mon they easily proved there's life in the old dog yet. I honestly thought that 2005's The Great Destroyer sounded like something of a goodbye from the band, and with suddenly appearing to have a revolving door of bassists since the departure of Zak Sally, it seemed to me that Low might be no more. But regrouping after the drab Drums and Guns, Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker found their mojo again. All you need to do is listen to opener 'Try to Sleep' to know you're in the presence of classic Low, and epic centrepiece 'Nothing But Heart' is simply stunning, and one of the band's finest moments of the past 17 years. Welcome back, and here's hoping there's still plenty more to come.

Best of British - The 'Alternative Mercury'

It's that time of year again when hipsters like me get their collective knickers in a twist over the nominations for the Mercury Prize. Year upon year my cries of equal parts derision/exasperation get increasingly strangulated as I wonder who decided that Glasvegas/New Young Pony Club/Kasabian/Speech Debelle (delete as appropriate) produced one of the best British albums of the past twelve months.

Well, now I can rest easy as those fine, fine people over at The Line Of Best Fit decided to come up with an alternative list of the best of the last year. There's twelve nominations, and you can check the site today for the first six choices.

What's my contribution to all this? Simple: Mogwai's Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will. Read all about it, plus five other marvellous choices by clicking here!

Mogwai: Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will.

Mogwai have been part of my musical life since I left school, and I still remember the moment in 1996 when I got my hands on the 'Tuner/Lower', and then 'Summer' 7-inches within a few months of each other. I never expected them to still be around 15-odd years later, still producing fantastic music.

With Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will the noise-rock veterans prove they've still got some tricks up their sleeve. 'White Noise' is probably the prettiest the 'Gwai have ever sounded at the start of a record, 'Mexican Grand Prix' sounds like an angry Stereolab, and the riffs of 'Rano Pano' are a visceral treat.

What else? 'Letters To The Metro' is lovely, 'Too Raging To Cheers' threatens to explode - but its controlled aggression is excellent. 'You're Lionel Richie' builds to the crescendo that perfectly fits the album's close, proving that these lads still have what it takes to blow your socks off.

There's also a bonus CD containing 'The Singing Mountain', a 23min beautiful orchestral epic created for a Douglas Gordon (he of Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait fame) film. It's really quite something, showcasing the influence that Barry Burns has in the band.

All in all, a beast of a record and easily their best since 2003's Happy Songs for Happy People.

Mogwai: Mexican Grand Prix

For the insanely brilliant, motorik 'Mexican Grand Prix', post-rock ear abusers Mogwai filmed a video set all across sunny Glasgow - see if you can spot yourself!

Special Moves

On 14th April 2001, at Rothesay Pavillion on the Isle of Bute, Mogwai almost made me vomit.

They had already scared the little old ladies manning the bar by opening with a double salvo of the glitch ‘Sine Wave’ from the Rock Action album, and followed it quickly with ‘Christmas Steps’. When the bass kicked in during the latter, those ladies nearly died on the spot thanks to the pure evil of the low-end on that track. Anyway, closing with ‘My Father My King’, their interpretation of an old Jewish hymn, and with me a few whisky and cokes and a few beers to the good, my stomach began to do somersaults when 13 minutes in the volume just increased to a level I have rarely experienced before or since (Boredoms, My Bloody Valentine and Sunn O))) apart). Luckily, dinner and drinks stayed down and I survived until the ferry ride home.

This is the Mogwai live experience. It’s probably the best way to hear Mogwai and it’s a surprise that it’s taken 13 years for the band to release a proper live record, Special Moves. In all honesty, as much as I love the band, they’ve not made a wholly cohesive record since 1999’s Come on Die Young - I could probably add 2003’s Happy Songs for Happy People to that one, but only just. I am, thankfully, happy to report that Special Moves, recorded in Williamsburg, is everything that you could want from a Mogwai album.

It takes tracks from each of the band’s full length releases, meaning that we get the classic brutal ‘Gwai of ‘Like Herod’ and ‘Mogwai Fear Satan’ from the early days, and also the more electronic and slowly-menacing-but-never-quite-exploding tracks such as ‘I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead’ and ‘Killing All the Flies’, from the later years.

It all hangs together brilliantly, slowly building to the middle of the record with ‘You Don’t Know Jesus’, taking a little breather before closing with the still frightening ‘Like Herod’, and ‘Glasgow Megasnake’. You know it’s a special Mogwai gig when the usual set highlight of the former is absolutely destroyed by the latter. It’s a breathless experience.

There’s also an accompanying DVD of the Williamsburg concert, filmed by the Take Away Show’s Vincent Moon and Nathanael Le Scouarnac. The less said about that the better.....but I’m going to anyway. While the music is once again fantastic, Moon ruins what could have been an excellent document of the Mogwai live experience by indulging in moody, grainy, black and white, out of focus, wonky-angled, art-for-art’s sake filmmaking. While the Take Away Shows are often fantastic, capturing bands playing live in out of the ordinary settings, Moon et al similarly wasted a fine opportunity with the DVD of A Skin, A Night, which was meant to document the making of The National’s Boxer album. Instead, we got the same arty nonsense and no insight into the creative process of the band.

I’d recommend without caveats the CD version of Special Moves as it perfectly captures what Mogwai is all about. This is a band that knows how to control the noise they make, and beyond the noise you'll find layers of melody and beauty that open themselves up through repeated listening.

By all means play the DVD, just don’t look at the screen while you’re doing it. Don’t give Vincent Moon the satisfaction or validation.