On April 1st, the Scottish post-rock band Mogwai will be releasing their new album Atomic. The band created the soundtrack for the BBC documentary Storyville – Atomic: Living in Dread and Promise last year, and their upcoming record contains reworked versions of the songs from this soundtrack. Mogwai has been around since 1995 and are known for their incredibly dynamic and distinct sound. The band is known more for their instrumental fills and less for their lyrics, though both are remarkable. However, Mogwai manages to convey feelings and emotions from the listener through their instrumental gaps, as lyrics might.Despite being labeled under the “post-rock” genre, the band does not like the genre and believes it overanalyzes everything. Over the past couple decades, the band has constantly been changing and developing their music, creating a wide array of sounds. They have never been afraid to experiment with their sound or recreate it. The band seems meant to create soundtracks, so Atomic should be no disappointment.
Despite the announcement of the departure of their guitarist John Cummings, Mogwai has proved themselves still successful and distinct. Cummings left to pursue his own projects in the future, and seemed to leave the band on good terms. He has been part of the band since 1995, shortly after Mogwai was formed. Atomic will be the band’s first album since his departure. The band will continue to play as a quartet.
Judging by their past history, Mogwai is sure to have another stellar album. Their last studio album, Rave Tapes, was released in January of 2014 and received good reviews from critics. The album consisted mainly of the band’s signature post-rock and electronic sound, though with increased use of the latter. Rave Tapes was the second album Mogwai released that year, after the release of their soundtrack for the French TV show Les Revenants in 2013. Though many critics state that Mogwai seems to be getting “tamer” when it comes to experimenting with their music, the albums still carry a distinct sound and have received a fair amount of praise from listeners.
In honor of their 20th anniversary together, the band released the compilation album Central Belters last year, which is definitely worth the listen in the meantime. Check out a fantastic review on it here.
Atomic:
01. Ether
02. SCRAM
03. Bitterness Centrifuge
04. U-235
05. Pripyat
06. Weak Force
07. Little Boy
08. Are You a Dancer?
09. Tzar
10. Fat Man
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