ROCK ACTION

This is an odd album, it's seriously eclectic and umbrellas all the tags, genres whatever that one can put on the Scottish outfit. It's actually quite a miserable album, but certainly the misery gets so mierable that it becomes comfortable, comfortable while locked into its own world, a world layered with a host of instruments becoming intense all the while, and while there is a barage of instrumentation it is that of the sweet toned guitar which always shines through for me. It's a slow builder. Rock Action sounds better to me now then it did five years ago, back then I craved an urgency, an aggression in music. I liked the concept of Mogwai but felt a million miles from the emotion they conveyed. I just didn't want it. Now? Well I've grown into the band, through constant plays and patience. The structures are incredible, rich and volumous. The subtle vocals which accompanied some of the parts were, to me, in perfect harmony with the tone and mood the band create. Sometimes, with some similar contemporary rock music acts of today, there can be a tendency to overstress and be too literal (and plain dumb) with regard vocal parts, words, lyrics. Here the lyrics creep in and become the very perfect and sympathetic line to merge with the sound, just to finish if off. Just like with "Take Me Somewhere Nice" and "Dial: Revenge". But then Mogwai and their like are just that much more orchestral, creative and thoughtful than a wave of a million other indie rock bands. Mogwai probably are spun from the one time indie circus but have progressed beyond that border, thankfully. Post rock? Lets forget that term, it's futile. Moving along then. Mogwai get as gritty as they can here with "You Don't Know Jesus" and while not as blistering violent as anything on the Young Team debut it is that bit more enjoyable. Less forced but nevertheless forceful, better even. It's as near to rock action as Mogwai get here, "2 Rights Make 1 Wrong" is decent too in the guitar department, in fact every department. This album is a real grower. Having "Sine Wave" as the album opener had put me off for a long while, but once the album gets going it does truly take off, it can veer toward the avant garde noise a little ("Robot Chant" etc) but that never gets in the way of the albums strength, because when Rock Action is good it's very good.

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