Sub Pop

Nothing is better for a band that has plateaued creatively than a change of scenery. And in that regard, there wasn’t wiser decision for Scotland’s Mogwai to have made than making the jump from Matador to Sub Pop, a move which, on the outset, caused serious waves in the indie rock world given the gravity of its stature—something akin to Carmelo Anthony’s recent migration to the New York Knicks from the Denver Nuggets, so to speak. But ultimately, it was just the switch-up they needed to get out of the artistic rut that saw them spinning their wheels creatively over the course of their last four albums (arguably speaking, of course, out of respect to any Mr. Beast fans reading these words).

Reuniting with producer Paul Savage, who helmed the band’s 1997 classic Young Team, the awesomely titled Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will —named after something a mutual friend overheard an underage kid trying to buy carry-out beer defiantly utter to the carding shopkeeper—is without question Mogwai’s most consistent effort since their 1999 masterstroke Come On Die Young. The key to its greatness is more of an emphasis on keyboards than guitars here, which really helps to bring the atmosphere out of the group’s trademark sound, evidenced on the icy, Krautrock-inspired glean of tracks like “Mexican Grand Prix” and “George Square Thatcher Death Party” and the Goblin-esque soundscapes that haunt “Too Raging To Cheers.”

But electric axes still reign supreme across much of Hardcore as well, and can be heard loud and clear across the likes of the texturally hypnotic “How To Be A Werewolf” and the ferocious, chugging “San Pedro.” It would be great to see this excellent outfit continue to evolve further away from the tension-and-release dynamics of their prior endeavors and closer to the more ambient and experimental elements of this otherwise impressive LP as they settle into their new Seattle digs. Something tells me this is just the beginning stage in the exciting rebirth of the mighty, mighty Mogwai.