Mogwai - Rock Action
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CD Details
Artist: MogwaiEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2001-04-24
Music Label: Matador Records
Soundtracks:
- Sine Wave
- Take Me Somewhere Nice
- O I Sleep
- Dial: Revenge
- You Don't Know Jesus
- Robot Chant
- 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong
- Secret Pint
Music reviews of Rock Action
Music Review: Their best
Rating: 5 Stars
Some prefer "Young Team" or "CODY" or even "Ten Rapid", but I can most assuredly say that this is the best Mogwai album.
Where previous releases had essentially been based on huge swells of guitar creating vast, swirling soundscapes, "Rock Action" continues the experimentation with different instrumentation found on "CODY" and uses that to its advantage. This may be somewhat due to Dave Fridmann producing the album, as his work with the Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, and others often finds him creating textured walls of sound with idiosyncratic orchestration, but it seems to fit so naturally into the band's sound that it comes off as the group wanting to advance their sound in new directions.
Also, "Rock Action" is more concise. Both "Young Team" and "CODY" were more than an hour long, but this album doesn't even approach 40 minutes. This trimming of their sound actually results in my only complaint (that there's not more of the album!!!) but at least it doesn't drag like the previous two records were prone to. In addition, there is still plenty of space for Mogwai's trademark crescendos, and the album does feature two nearly ten-minute tracks, so any fan of their previous work needs not approach with caution.
Finally, the use of more vocals, however subdued they typically are, is another step forward for the band's sound, as it again works naturally and as a progression, not to mention adding more variety to the music as a whole. Their use also results in a very, very strong track, "Dial: Revenge", which admittedly is sung by a guest vocalist (Gruff Rhys), but still, it has sung speech on it, which was atypical for them up to this point.
In conclusion, they would advance this type of sound later, and previous albums were certainly fantastic, but to my ears, this remains the high point in the group's catalog and should definitely be purchased by any fan of the group or any fan of post-rock in general.
Description of Rock Action
The Glaswegian lads in Mogwai continue to tinker with their instrumental rock formula. Whereas Young Team featured the loud-soft dynamic gleaned from Velvet Underground and Come On Die Young copped Sonic Youth's moody experimentalism, Rock Action adds a dash of Yo La Tengo's hushed ambience and Flaming Lips' studio-savvy playfulness (no surprise there--Rock Action was produced by Lips collaborator and Mercury Rev-ster David Fridmann.) Despite quoting from such a heavy lineup of musical mischief makers, Mogwai craft their own sound, largely due to the melodic narratives they conjure up in the interplay between the three guitarists. With hardly a spoken whisper in the mix, they manage to create great moments of drama, tension, and resolution. "Take Me Somewhere Nice" is a meandering journey toward the promised land, "You Don't Know Jesus" wanders with mystical and loopy abandon, and "Secret Pint" thrums in stately glory. One of the great things about Mogwai is that they are still so damned young--if they continue to kick against the pricks of their own invention we'll be hearing much more inventive and wonderful music from them in years to come. --Tod NelsonGeneral CDs
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