As we’re all now aware, the title of Mogwai’s latest record is somewhat misleading. ‘Rave Tapes’ does not herald a new direction for the Scottish post-rock veterans; they are, artfully it has to be said, fucking with us again.
When Remurdered, the first song unveiled from the album, arrived back in October, it offered a tantalising glimpse at a more synth-influenced sound. In the context of the album though, it’s more like a temporary diversion, one that leads into more familiar territory.
Appearing in the wake of Mogwai’s brooding soundtrack for Les Revenants, a French horror TV show, it would make a comfortable bedfellow for John Carpenter’s minimalist scores for Halloween, Escape From New York or Assault On Precinct 13, offering up lingering malice and a driving, relentless conclusion.
Some of its electronic energy also seeps into Simon Ferocious and the majestic The Lord Is Out Of Control, a contender even at this early stage for album closer of the year, but elsewhere, with the nagging guitar phrases and tumultuous feedback of HexonBogon or Heard About You Last Night, Mogwai are happy to revisit the style that has come to define the band.
While that may not tickle those in search of something earth-shattering, it does reinforce Mogwai’s status as masters of understated melody. ‘Rave Tapes’ is studded with moments of beauty amid the atmospherics and is at its core a record that caters to both head and heart.
Fri January 24 2014 - LONDON Royal Festival Hall
Sat January 25 2014 - LONDON Royal Festival Hall
Mon January 27 2014 - MANCHESTER Bridgewater Hall
Tue January 28 2014 - GLASGOW Royal Concert Hall Glasgow
Sat March 08 2014 - EDINBURGH Usher Hall
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