BATCAT

'Batcat' is the 9th EP by Mogwai, released just before the 'Hawk is Howling' album in September of 2008. It contains 3 songs 2 of which are original to this recording and the title track which is just slightly different than the version on the EP.

'Batcat', the song, is a heavy mid-tempo instrumental revolving around a guitar riff. It is an interesting, yet pretty standard post rock fare, but it remains heavy throughout except for a short break in the middle. When the heaviness returns, it is even more intense with and based around a different riff.

'Stupid Prick Gets Chased By the Police and Loses His Slut Girlfriend' is another track just over 5 minutes. This track with a kooky title starts out mellower with jangly guitars and chords played in octaves by a keyboard. A rhythmic percussion pattern repeats itself eventually. This track has a smoother flow than the last one and is quite a nice instrumental. A long sustained chord ends the track.

'Devil Rides' actually contains lyrics and vocals by Roky Erickson from the psychedelic band '13th Floor Elevators'. This starts with a peaceful guitar and slow beat. A lot of Mogwai songs with vocals are usually very subdued, but this is not the case here. The lyrics are easy to understand and at the front of the mix, with Rory's distinctive vocals. This is a nice slow song.

Even though these tracks are decent, there really is nothing outstanding about it, they are pretty much standard post rock songs that sound similar to the material in 'Hawk is Howling'. Mogwai fans will want to have it, but other than that, there is no reason to pay a high price to get the original songs that are on it. 'Devil Rides' is also available on 'Central Belters' which is a 3 CD compilation album. This gets 2 stars only because it is so short and 2 of the 3 songs are available elsewhere.