Photo: Press
Superb soundscapes, avant-garde rock and a load of albums to their name, Mogwai remain the great British band most people have still never heard of.
Fitting in the vein of their usual sonic landscapes and in-depth instrumental pieces, their latest work ties to the documentary Atomic: Living In Dread And Promise: a documentary of archive footage that deals with the horrors of the nuclear age from Hiroshima, through the Cold War right the way up to Fukishima.
Reviewing the Atomic album without having seen the counterpart film may seem like only viewing half the picture. However, doing so has two benefits; firstly, not to introduce the level of despair in my life that such a documentary would inevitably bring (a five minute clip on YouTube was enough), and secondly allowing more focus on the magnificent work that Mogwai have crafted.
Because even without being armed with the back story to the album, it's fairly clear about the themes of the album just through listening. 'SCRAM' as an example captures something of the kitsch with The Who-esque organ that's somehow evocative of Space Race-era optimism, only then to undermine it with darker more brooding tones that are fairly unsettling. Meanwhile 'Pripyat' (if not through name alone) successfully captures the Soviet mood though mixing in what sounds like marching music under levels of distortion and sonic degradation.
And so well crafted is the material to its theme, there are some really dark parts to this album. Mogwai succeed in sucking nearly all humanity out of 'Bitterness Centrifuge' with colossal machine-like synths producing deeply unsettling tones. And while 'U-235' may have been added to the album after the documentary, it still manages to capture something sinister of the 80s in its thudding processed bass line (the title is still a reference to enriched Uranium after all). Slightly more affirming and upbeat sounds on 'Little Boy' and 'Ether' prevent a sense of complete emotional collapse, but not by much.
Mogwai are to be commended then for pretty much nailing the brief put in front of them. It's not a light topic and as a result its not a light album - you won't hear people whistling these songs walking down the street. But for this soundtrack it's exactly what was required and full credit to the band for rising to the occasion.
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