By Geoff Topley
Can it really be almost twenty years since Mogwai first enhanced my musical experience with their stunning debut Young Team; introducing me to the wonders of instrumental guitar music?
Over this illustrious time period the Glasgow band have released some mesmerising music through studio albums, film soundtracks, extended plays, live albums, sessions, rarities and remix collections. I’ve hungrily set about collecting everything they’ve released and eagerly caught the band play live on each visit to these shores. Legend has it that one of those visits inspired the more vicious tracks on the Mr Beast album. A furious 15 minute white noise and strobe lighting assault as a “fuck you” riposte to a chatty Belfast audience ended one gig. On their return, our ears took another pounding prior to the release of the aforementioned album. It was glorious.
Rave Tapes, their eighth studio album, takes the minimalist synthetic throb of the Les Revenants soundtrack and adds to the mix with lovely organic instrumentation. Early listens suggest a companion piece to 2001’s Rock Action. That album took us by surprise with the introduction of vocals and Rave Tapes has a few “songs” on it; one of which is surely one of Mogwai’s finest moments. To fully enjoy the deep hues painted by this collection, I strongly advise listening with some headphones. Each track is gloriously constructed from multiple layers of melody and sounds that might otherwise escape into the ether if uncaptured.
Opening track ‘I Heard about You Last Night’ is a low key enticing combination of chiming tones and lovely warm guitars. A simple repetitive melody merrily envelopes you, but before long a swell of something more sinister washes over you. The track doesn’t give much away as to what is to follow and will probably sit well as a good opening tune for the live shows. I sincerely hope the band come this way to promote this album as the sheer depth of the sounds will just be immense recreated in the live scenario, I have no doubt.
I have to admit, I found the album difficult on the initial listen, almost underwhelming. Certainly tracks like ‘Simon Ferocious’ and ‘Remurdered’, which utilise the most basic fuzzy analogue throbbing sounds seemed to almost exist for the sake of making some new noises. But further listening (at closer proximity) reveals an intricacy and cleverness of playing where the fusion of analogue and digital is exceptional. You can hear the squeak of the guitar strings in the former and the way that ‘Remurdered’ contorts into more joyous sounds is a neat trick they pull off expertly. It’s as if the dead have come to life, perhaps inspired by the music they made for the French zombie drama Les Revenants.
Rave Tapes isn’t just about trying to push the boundaries of what Mogwai should sound like. ‘Hexon Bogon’ is definitely the track that could have appeared on (almost) any of their former albums. Organic in sound, the track has a verse chorus verse structure. Layers of melodic guitar intricately weave their way in and out of each other, the searing guitar line in the ‘chorus’ earworms its way into your head. Over too soon, this track will be a monster live.
If you want to challenge yourself with a headfuck of a tune then you need to hear ‘Repelish’. A spoken word monologue from some American zealot set to some seriously warped devilish keyboard tones. Perfect considering the theme of our erstwhile nutjob’s ranting is about the perils of backtracking in rock music. The keyboards moan and writhe while the drums drop in and out, the crack of the snare so satisfying each time its hit. The “gotta live for Satan” line has been freaking me out with every listen. Definitely one of Mogwai’s most memorable and intense tracks.
Prior to the album’s superb closing moments, we have ‘Mastercard’, reliant on guitars as primary instrumentation, there’s a snap in the performance that is a little at odds with the ease of some of the other tracks. The scuzzy distortion of the layered guitars makes you feel dirty, brilliant considering the music has no lyrics. ‘Deesh’ rides along on a droning background that might not appear to you through normal speakers, non-apparent guitars flicker over an intense bass throb. Indeterminate droning keyboards/guitars join the warm organ tones, the track is sinister and serious.
The final trio of tunes really drive home the ominous fact that Rave Tapes is one of Mogwai’s finest collections. ‘Blues Hour’ is a straight up song with aching reverbed piano, unobtrusive winding bass lines and a tragic vocal turn. The chorus is just plain heart-breaking and for a band that relies on almost entirely instrumental music, makes you question what have they been keeping from us all these years? Reminiscent of a Nick Cave classic, the track swells to an epic centrepiece harking back to the huge sounds of Young Team before quietly composing itself back into the quiet calm of the verse. It’s beautiful and I will never tire of hearing this song.
Rave Tapes is undoubtedly one of Mogwai’s most melodic albums, ‘No Medicine for Regret’ is another clever earworm built upon a bedrock of lush organ. If laser beams had sound to match the stunning visual, the wondrous synth hook of this tune would be that sound. An intense bass hum rises up to propel the track along and what begins as a morose tune ends up a glorious and uplifting soundscape of spirited melodies. The off kilter organ main melody envelopes you and suddenly becomes…whatever the opposite of off kilter happens to be.
Closing tune ‘The Lord is out of Control’ takes the vocodered vocals of ‘Hunted by a Freak’ providing a hymnal melody. The drums fizz and clash like some busted robotic machine breaking down. Layered clean and distorted guitars provide a depth that allows the track to gradually build so that you experience another amazing shift from morose sounds to sheer euphoria. Perhaps this is the inspiration behind the album’s title, a nod to electro sounds and a reminder of youthful days.
Rave Tapes is a glorious mix of analogue and digital, guitars and keyboards/synths, sadness and euphoria. Mogwai are masters of their art, with an imperiously vast knowledge of sounds and styles and a brilliant way with melody. They have managed to re-invent themselves on many occasions, always seeking new ways to further their sound and stay creative. Prolific and hardworking, always managing to do things their way, mainstream success remains elusive, but the band doesn’t need that.
Try making your own compilation of Mogwai tunes, it’ll prove incredibly difficult to do, but it’ll be fucking amazing. Album of the year in January? Seriously? Rave Tapes is going to take some beating.
