In recent years Mogwai have established themselves as masters of dynamics and
atmosphere. In earlier albums these dynamics I speak of wear accomplished with a patented
"loud-soft" formula that, while very good at its best can still become stale and formulaic. With
their last full length album, Come On Die Young, Mogwai avoided this stagnation by trimming off
the excess "loud-soft" from the album and concentrating on more subtle textures and dynamics.
Fortunately Mogwai's contribution to the Travels in Constants series continues this trend and is
one of their best releases to date.
The EP begins with "Untitled" which is honestly one of the best songs I've ever heard. It
builds slowly from distant, delayed guitar that, with time, develops into a more structured theme
that is eventually supplemented with a steady beat, a simple keyboard/flute melody, and some
quiet "la la la la"s. This may seem somewhat unremarkable, but it is anything but. These simple
layers combine in a near perfect composition, that then reverses on itself and slowly decays with a
acoustic guitar added on top of the deconstructing layers. The EP continues with a rework of
Stereo Dee (entitled "Quiet Stereo Dee") which is pretty much what the title indicates, and a cover
of the Papa M song "Arundel." Both of these songs are equally as impressive as the first (or at least
close).
As I found on fakejazz's very own version of "THE LIST," my enthusiasm for Mogwai is not
shared by all, and many people, for some reason, seem to feel very strongly in the negative about
Mogwai. To these people I would ask: "what's your problem?"
|
