Mogwai / Black Bird

I’m not huge on film soundtracks or scores, even if they’re by artists I like, as their inherent background music-ness tends to not hold my interest. A strong exception to this is Mogwai, who obviously know a thing or two about making atmospheric instrumental music bracing and exciting. So when the band releases a soundtrack, […]

Mogwai – “Boltfor”

Mogwai wrapped their Spring North American tour in support of As The Love Continues this past weekend, and as a parting gift, they’ve released a new, non-album track along with video. Recording of it began alongside the rest of the Continues material at VADA Studios near Birmingham, England, but wasn’t completed until last month at […]

Mogwai – “Coolverine”

Tonight, I’ll be seeing Mogwai for the eighth time, but the first in over five years and the first time touring behind a regular studio album in a decade. That January 2017 show was for their 2016 soundtrack Atomic, which I loved and was thrilled to hear performed front to back, but it’s a different […]

Blue Skied An’ Clear: An appreciation of Slowdive’s Pygmalion

Conventional wisdom holds that Slowdive’s second album Souvlaki is their masterpiece – certainly it’s my go-to of their catalog – but the critical re-evaluation Pygmalion – their once-but-no-longer swan song – has gotten over the past quarter-century is pretty remarkable. On its initial release in February of 1995, it seemed to be cursed. Drummer Simon […]