Robert Smith once called these guys his favorite band and it is easy to hear why. Eleven albums into their career, Mogwai has a clear focus on their sonic journey on The Bad Fire (Rock Action Records). Vocals appear right from the first song, serving as a smooth texture that sits in the swirl of sound. Things get more into their older bran of majestic melancholy on the second song. It’s less pop-oriented than the opening track. If you came here wanting post-rock this is the song for you. “What Kind of a Mix is This” feels like it just spills out from the end of the lingering ebb of the previous song. It takes a minute for a guitar melody to establish the song’s footing.Continue reading








Future Usses is a project featuring members of Intronaut and Bereft and they’ve clearly been putting a lot of thought into their debut, The Existential Haunting (Pelagic). Five years in the making, this is an album which is crafted and defined, but it’s not an album that the casual listener will find rewarding.