Scotland’s hardest working merchants of distortion are back with a follow-up to their mostly acclaimed Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will. In typical Mogwai fashion, the five man band have taken what is perceived to be their sound on yet another detour. The Earth Division EP finds their tried-and-true aggression being expanded to explore all of its melodic scope. Hell, you could go as far to say this is some damn near classical Stravinsky shit. Like the soundtrack to an unreleased thriller, opener Get to France sets the tone for what’s to come. The four-song exploration continues on what appears initially to be a rather sentimental effort on Hound Of Winter. It’s a slow burn though, as the mood turns haunting, the arrangement intensifying as the vocals pine, presumably for lost love. “Time hides things, lies hide things, I hide things, I lose things.” Drunk And Crazy resembles the soundtrack to a debauched night, with moments of introspection. A lush backdrop of strings is cut with a chainsaw of industrial grunt. Ending things on a similarly cinematic note, you could call it the ending credits, Does This Always Happen? ties all the pieces together. Accomplishing exactly what it needs to, the EP adds depth to the band’s cannon and leaves the door open for whatever shenanigans they want to get up to next.
Best Track: Drunk And Crazy
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Wish You Were Here PINK FLOYD, Horse Stories DIRTY THREE
In A Word: Expansive
BY ANDREW ‘HAZARD’ HICKEY
