A Guide to the Music of Mogwai

Instrumental post-punk noise-rock from Glasgow

By Christian Kummernes

Mogwai Young Team (1997)
The debut album. It's equivalent to Dylan debuting with Highway 61 Revisited or Springsteen with Born To Run. The band's sound and ambition is fully realized, so much that four albums later, this is what many still think Mogwai sound like: long, melodic instrumental songs that are quiet/loud/quiet/very loud/quiet. The standout track here is the 16-minute "Mogwai Fear Satan," their one-chord, three-note thermonuclear magnum opus that is still the best thing they've created.

Come On Die Young (1999)
Refusing to be labeled as "the band that makes quiet/loud/quiet songs," this is a very (maybe too) conscious attempt at avoiding that. The album suffers a bit from this, and despite a handful of very good songs (and excellent song titles), it's their least-focused album. The standout track is "Christmas Steps," which can be found on the Mogwai EP + 6 release in it's original (and superior) form.

Rock Action (2001)
More experimentation and straying from their "original" sound with the use of drum loops, acoustic guitar, and banjo. The songs are shorter and sweeter and more accessible than ever, and it's a big step forward creatively, without compromise. The standout track is "2 Rights Make 1 Wrong," with its simple, addictive melody and layers of Hammond organ, strings, choir, banjo, and everything else they've put on this track. It's a big song that sounds medium-sized and happy for being that way.

Happy Songs For Happy People (2003)
Ah, great title, great songs, great song titles. This is the distilled essence of Mogwai, taking the best parts from the previous albums and possibly making this the quintessential Mogwai album so far. The standout track here is "Ratts Of The Capital" which really embodies the core musical elements that make Mogwai what they are, but still sounds fresh.

Government Commissions The BBC Sessions, 1996-2003 (2005)
The boys rip it up at the Beeb. A better overview than expected, its' strength is that it covers the youthful mischief apparent in their early music as well as the maturity they achieve in later years. The standout track is - whether you like it or not, it's impossible to ignore - "Like Herod." It's 18-and-a-half minutes of musical malice, the noise they generate is absolutely ridiculous. I adore the ugly thing.

Compilations, EP's, Singles

Ten Rapid (1997)
A collection of their pre-Young Team recordings. Equally representative of the early Mogwai sound as Young Team, it boasts quite a range of musical ideas, as well as "Summer," their first (underground) "hit," and the most gorgeous Mogwai tune ever: "Helicon 1."

Mogwai EP + 6 (2000)
The "EP"-part is originally from 1999, but it has six added tracks from two earlier EP's that are now out of print (4 Satin EP and No Education = No Future, Fuck The Curfew). Spanning about three years, this 10-song EP shows off Mogwai's diversity better than any of the albums; from the drum-machine- and synth-driven "Superheroes Of BMX" to the idiot/genius wall of white noise of "Stereodee," through the brilliance and barking guitars of "Xmas Steps" and on to the lovely, piano-based "Christmas Song," it shows off the band as more versatile than you'd expect.

My Father, My King (2001)
Released in October 2001, it was Mogwai's protest to the US invasion of Afghanistan. It's based on a well-known Jewish song, and at 20 minutes, it's the longest Mogwai track yet. It's a massive monster of a song that steamrolls over you with the help of insanely overdriven bass and guitars, layers and layers of them. At the end, even the amps seem to be squealing for mercy.

Christian Kummernes, AKA Dr. Zoom, is a berserk Viking and music fan from Oslo, Norway.