Mogwai – Special Moves
For those of you that have actually seen these Scottish firebrands play live (the ones who came through with ears still intact) this CD/DVD set is a great reminder. For those new to the Mogwai universe, it’s a great place to start. The package features tracks from all six of their full-length albums and is paced to show their quiet loud approach in its full. Moments of quiet grandeur are often times torn asunder with one of the heaviest aural attacks in popular music.
Mogwai have an approach where the moods the songs create become the important characteristic and their songs often feel more like musical movements than individual songs. They have sequenced the songs (recorded over three nights) into a cohesive whole and the results have a real sense of flow. They also drop one of their few tracks with vocal into just the right moment to add to the atmosphere.
Special note should also be made of the DVD included in this set. The film it contains is called Burning and was created by filmmakers Vincent Moon and Nat Le Scouarnec who use a high-contrast black and white approach that is both understated and assertive without becoming too overt, much like the band’s music itself. It’s a real plus to the package.
Special Moves does well to bring the band’s first 15 years of existence into some kind of focus. Here’s hoping that the plateau reached will become the base standard, one from which the band will use to launch into something completely new and different. Rob Hudson www.mogwai.co.uk
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