Music > Album Reviews

Mogwai - Atomic

21/03/16

This is one of those albums, you know the ones, where you just have to run upstairs half way through the first song, grab a trumpet and start playing along. It’s not that the songs need extra trumpet, especially not the way I play it, but they just instill that primal urge to bash out some brass. It’s an itch that can only be scratched by doing it, so do it I did.

This is definitely a Mogwai record. It has all the hallmarks and it ticks all the boxes you want it to tick. But more specifically it’s definitely a Mogwai soundtrack record. That’s not to say it’s worse than ‘normal’ releases or that it doesn’t stand up on its own, but the approach the band takes to these sorts of offerings (take their Zidane album as another example) is noticeably different. The production here is a bit more slick, the songs more cinematic and it’s somehow harder to imagine them being performed live (although there are dates planned). These are not negatives, but if you’re expecting to hear the next step in the band’s evolution I don’t think this is quite that. It’s something a bit different, and it’s a beautiful listen. So you should.

And don’t forget to have a trumpet to hand when you do.

8/10