Anyone for some ‘Pale Vegan Hip Pain’, or a ‘Fanzine Made Of Flesh’? Yes, it’s the return of those brilliant Scots post rock pioneers Mogwai, complete with another dazzling array of utter genius song titles. It’s hard to believe that they’re celebrating their thirty-year anniversary, with that milestone arriving on the back of their last album, 2021’s ‘As The Love Continues’ reaching number one in the album charts.
‘The Bad Fire’ is their eleventh album and takes its title from the Scottish working-class term for hell, which sums up what band member keyboardist Barry Burns was going through at the time due to his daughter having undergone various medical procedures with the doctors telling Barry that she was lucky to be alive.
Pouring their collective energies into making album number eleven in the midst of such difficult times has brought both a ferocity and freedom to Mogwai’s epic soundscapes. Opener ‘God Gets You Back’ gently creeps out of the speakers, with its John Carpenter-esque synth riffs creating a hypnotic swirl before the beats and vocal effects kick in and the tune lifts off into overdrive. Mogwai seldom use vocals, and when they do, they also seem to exist in their own language, as the vocals are layered with a glorious multitude of effects creating a dreamscape of sounds, fitting seamlessly into the rest of the tune whilst ensuring your ears remain focused on the overall song as a whole, without being overtly distracted by distinctive phrases.
‘Hi Chaos’ has a folk feel to its opening refrains before the huge high guitar riffs catapult the whole song skywards into an epic array of thunderous drums pounding bass and guitar melodies, whereas ‘Fanzine Made Of Flesh’ is not only one of the best songtitles on here, but is an uplifting tune which races along like a roller coaster of melodic chaos.
As the above tune proves, Mogwai have yet again surpassed themselves in the song title department. Still no ‘Taxi Jazz’ (one of the many discarded song titles from the Mogwai collective mind, see our previous interview with Stuart Braithwaite from Mogwai) but they are deliberately playful, obscure and meaningless, leaving the music free to inhabit your imagination without any preconceived notions.
‘Pale Vegan Hip Pain’ has long cavernous slow guitar notes which slowly evolve into a beautifully intricate melody. Mogwai have always been able to make laidback and moody epic feasts for your ears alongside the more explosive tunes, acting as a gorgeous balance against the mighty volumes and noise of other songs on their albums, and this one does the job perfectly before the intensity of ‘If You Find This World Bad You Should See Some Of The Others’ kicks in. That brings an ominously dark melodic opening before expanding into a symphony of guitar noise injected with huge melodies as only Mogwai can conjure up. Who needs vocal melodies when you have tunes as dramatic and exciting as this!
‘Hammer Room’ has synth lines bubbling away under guitar lines creating an intricate web of a tune which spins its melodic riffs ever skywards before a quiet resolution brings the tune to a close and the almighty majestic beast of a tune that is ‘Lion Rumpus’ kicks in, all lingering notes, pounding drums, great guitar riffs and layers upon layers of instrumentation.
It may have been a strange time for the band, but the tunes they have emerged with reflect a band who have refused to let life grind them down. Working with producer John Congleton (who has previously worked with the likes of Explosions In The Sky, Sigur Ros, John Grant and more), their mountainous soundscape of mostly instrumental tunes sounds timeless. As Stuart Braithwaite recently stated, “when you play our music, time kind of stops”.
Mogwai may have been around for over thirty years, yet they have always existed in their own musical sphere, where words are often surplus to requirements and the music conveys all the emotional output needed.
A consistently great band who have yet again delivered a mostly instrumental musical masterpiece, the kind of album destined to keep those January blues well and truly beaten. This is going in the best albums of 2025 pile already!
Mogwai: The Bad Fire – Out 24th January 2025 (Rock Action Records)
– Lion Rumpus (Official video)
From the early days of creating handmade zines, in a DIY paper and glue style, interviewing bands around town, then pestering Piccadilly Records to sell them, to writing for various independent mags such as Chimp and Ablaze, writing about the music I love is still a great passion. After testing the music industry waters in London with stints at various labels, being back in my hometown again, writing about this city’s vibrant music scene is as exciting as ever. All time favourite bands include Sonic Youth, Nick Cave, Patti Smith although anything from electro to folk via blues and pysch rock will also do nicely too. A great album, is simply a great album, regardless of whatever musical cage you put it in.
