SOUNDTRACK: MOGWAI-Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will (2011).
With an album title like that, you expect, well, some pretty loud music, right?
For this Mogwai album that’s not what you’ll get. You’ll get lots of keyboards, and on the opening track “White Noise” you’ll get one of their prettiest melodies in ages. Sure, there’s some distorted guitar by the end, but this is quite pretty. “Mexican Grand Prix” opens with a computerized drums, keyboards, a propulsive bass line and whispered vocals. This could be a dance hit. What has Mogwai done with Stuart Braithwaite? When the processed vocals start singing along (no idea what they’re saying), you can easily imagine a dancefloor packed with people for this track.
“Rano Pano” brings in the buzzy guitars again, both the first intro sounds and the noisier melody guitar, while “Death Rays” returns to the happy keyboard feel for a song that reminds me of Explosions in the Sky. Once again, the melody is beautiful. “San Pedro” brings guitars back in, with another killer melody and at 3 and a half minutes, it’s the shortest blast of rock.
“Letters to the Metro” opens with a spare piano melody and adds delicate washes throughout. “George Square Thatcher Death Party” opens with some chanting (no idea what they’re saying) and then some of the loudest bass so far. It’s another propulsive song, with some buzzy guitars way in the background, but the main force again is the keyboards. This song sounds very 80s to me, with the processed computerized voice and the keyboard sound they use. “How to Be a Werewolf” is 6 minutes. It’s a nice song but it doesn’t really grab me like the others. “Too Raging to Cheers” has more 80s style keyboards (reminding me of Brian Eno or a PBS documentary about space) until about 2 and a half minutes in, when the Mogwai of old come crashes through–lots of cymbals and loud guitars.
“You’re Lionel Richie” is an 8 and a half minute song that opens with some French dialogue. There’s a complicated guitar melody that plays for a time. By about 5 minutes, the noise comes in–guitars, keyboards, cymbals, and while it doesn’t crescendo like Mogwai of old, it certainly gives you tastes of them. This later section of the song brings in a good guitar melody that plays along until the slow fadeout at the end.
I continue to think of Mogwai as a loud, intense band, but their more recent output shows a band changing into something else. Their melodies are still top notch and they definitely flirt with using noise in some of their songs, but they seems to be making more commercial sounding music (although realistically no band that makes almost exclusively instrumentals can ever be accused of selling out).
[READ: August 10, 2012] “Ghost Town Choir”
I have a read a few things from Ferris. This story caught me completely by surprise.
The story is from the point of view of a boy who is living with his mom. She is dating a man named Lawton. Lawton had moved some of his stuff into their house, including his record collection–his prized possession. They have a fight; he sings to her from outside their trailer, “What have you got planned tonight, Diana, he sang, though my mom’s name is Sheryl.” She threw all of her dishes at him until he left. He came back later that night calling her all kinds of unforgivable names.
Then the story shifts to Lawton’s point of view (both POVs are in first person, although they are quite distinct in style). The boy goes to Lawton’s trailer even though he is not welcome anymore: “Your momma and me, we’re done.” Lawton fancies himself a cowboy, and the backing singer in a cowboy band.
Back at home, Sheryl is on a cleaning binge–purging herself of everything. When she gets to Lawton’s records, she is ready to toss them but the boy asks her not to. She doesn’t listen and hauls them to the dumpster. The boy grabs them later on and brings them to his fort in the forest. That’s where he kept all of the things that the men left in his house after they were gone: “I wonder did they know about he cigarettes they’d never finish?” (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: The Believer June/July 2007 Music Issue Compilation CD: Cue the Bugle Turbulent (2007).
The 2007 Believer disc smashes the mold of folkie songs that they have established with the previous discs in the series. The theme for this disc is that there’s no theme, although the liner notes give this amusing story:
SOUNDTRACK: EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY-The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place (2003).
Explosions in the Sky play beautiful, lengthy almost cinematic instrumentals. They are primarily a guitar-drum band, (but they do add bass from time to time).
SOUNDTRACK: EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY-How Strange, Innocence (2005).
Explosions in the Sky is one of those instrumental bands that the kids are raving about these days. Bands have been doing instrumentals forever, really, but I guess about a decade or so ago, some bands started specializing in an all instrumental format. Bands like Scenic, Mogwai and Godspeed You Black Emperor are probably the forefathers, although to be honest I can’t think of too too many more bands doing the style (aside from the Constellation Label in general). These bands work a great, atmospheric sound, usually building to a crescendo and pulling away before reaching the ultimate climax. This album is EITS’ first, recently reissued. There are some bands who hit their stride running on their first record, these usually seem to be bands that aren’t too complicated. Nothing wrong with them, in fact their debuts are often stellar, as if they were born playing their style. EITS is not one of these bands. 
I Just Read About That... 