MOGWAI
lle sltowed nte tlte chords attd gaye ttte a tape attd I took it ltome. I just remember sittittg in my roont. listening to it. and absolutely sltittittg myself. I couldn't belieye you cottld ntake sometlting that powerful.’
(her a decade later. power is Mogwai‘s currency. The fiye-piece battd of rabid (‘eltic fatts formed itt (ilasgow itt 1095. inspired by \‘is'cet'al rock ‘n‘ roll battds like My Bloody Valentine and the pttttttttellittg beats
they were ltearing itt clubs. .\'ow. alter
one frigltteningly good debut LP. a remix record and a sttpport tottr witlt the Manic Street Preachers which
tattght audiences the true meaning of
the phrase ‘culture shock‘. Mogwai are abottt to release a second albttttt. ('ome 011 Die Young Here is a band who care abottt their craft attd do not suffer musical mediocrity gladly.
‘\\'hat'.’ licho And The Bunnymen single of the week'.’ Shocking!’ Stuart's sittittg itt (ilasgow‘s .\'ice ‘n‘ Sleazy pttb. haying his breakfast veggie burger. chips. lrn-Bru attd hot chocolate —~ attd going through the new .\’.l/Il:'. last week they had Blur. too. attd that’s an atrocity. Tongue in clteek bastards. They really nipped our ttit in.‘
.\'ipped our ttit in'.’ I didn‘t ask.
But it does sound good. As does ('o/ne ()1: Die Young. the (ilasgow gattg slogan embraced as the title for the band‘s new albttttt. .-\n albuttt which. like the best of pop. is always the satne. bttt always different. .»\nd. like the best of pop. its creators are gloriously young. Stuart‘s just 22. For the record. he‘s resplendent itt lilnter l‘udd hat. brigltt orange jacket and those trackie bottoms with the knee- high lips.
I first cattte across Mogwai through the early singles. collected on the essential 'li'n Rapid LP. attd sortie
- 'Echo And
Bunnymen single of the week? Shocking! Last week they had Blur, and that's an atrocity. Tonguein
bastards.’
Stuart Braithwaite
with your music.’ says Stttart. like about getting a family. or if you‘re needing enough money to btty a
house. The best chance you'ye got of
making really good tttttsic is when you don‘t haye to think abottt that stttff. \Vhat we‘d always hope would
be that we‘ye ney‘cr got to think of
attytltittg apart frottt doing our tttttes.~
Quite. ('omt' ()n Die Young features the sampled yoice of Iggy Pop ('Some guy lent ttty girlfriend a Stooges bootleg \ideo. it slt'llc‘k a cltord so we jtlst tticked it‘). an oyerhauling of last year's curiously pt'og '(‘ht'istlttas Steps’ from tlte 'Xo liducation:\o littture tl-‘ttck 'l‘he (‘urfew )' lil’. attd ‘Kappa‘. an homage to the sportswear firtn who. bizarrely. sponsor the battd. Then. there's ‘Year 2()()() Non—(‘ompliant (’ardia‘. dedicated to drumttter Martin Bulloch. who is yet to fittd ottt whether his pacetttaker will fall fort] of the Millennium Bug. ‘\\'alt/ lior .-\idatf (written for .-\rab Strap‘s .-\idan .\loffat) is like 'l'ortoise bttt better. while '(‘ltocky’ wouldn‘t ltay'e sounded ottt of place as a hidden track on .loy l)i\'ision's (foyer. l’ltls. in a first for this largely instrumental band.
we get to ltear the singing Voice of
Stuart on the (ialaxie SUD—like title track.
it should be clear by ttow that Mogwai are ttot a battd mired itt the indie-schmindie gttitar rut. They are
just as likely to coyer a Black Sabbatlt
sottg as remix a l)a\‘id lloltttes record. while Stuart. who would [me to compose filttt soundtracks. is well ittto
the work of ambient wildcard. the .-\phe.\ 'l‘win.
‘Big fan of the 'l‘win.’ he enthuses. ‘You heard “Window” yet. you heard "Window l.icker"‘.’ l tltittk the most ridiculous thing [We ey er read. I think it was in '/./I(' l'ilt‘t’. tltey said it was the nearest he‘s cottte to a ttttte since :lm/n’enl ll'o/‘ks 2. Bullshit! Ambient ll'or/x's 2 is ttot a tttttefttl record. l’eople catt be so ignorant.’
Stuart‘s telling ttte about what else he’s been buying tl’il box-set) and what he's listening to (Smog‘s Knock Knock). when itt walks l)otttinic .v\itchison tnickttattte: l)etttonic). With his cropped hair attd fttll heard. the bass player could pass for a kindly young prison officer. a rock to Braithwaite‘s roll.
They talk about l)a\e l‘ridmann. cltief knob-tw iddler on .\lercttry Rey’s Deserlt'r's Songs. who prodttced ('o/nt' ()n Die Young itt his stttdio ill the wilds of upstate New York: 'lt was good. because I think l)a\'e liked tts. lie was really tttotiyating. dancing around the studio attd tellittg tts when to play lottdf
'l'he cltat turns to future platts 'l' iii the Park attd maybe a tour later iii the year. for the tttontettt. thottglt. they‘re off to meet the l‘rench press. Taxi. plane to Paris. back for Bohr/on
Come On Die Young is released on Chemikal Underground on Mon 29 Mar. Mogwai play Virgin Records, Argyle Street, Glasgow, Sun 28 Mar, midnight; call 0141 221 2606 for details.
9 . wonderfttlly brief gigs itt lidinburgh's » r - i , ('as Rock attd Attic yenues. Here. n . you‘d get the likes of the acltingly . ' ‘ beautiful ‘llelicon 2'. the full-on " " ‘ " onslaught of ‘Sumttter‘. and that ‘
would be that. Then cattte their 1907 g
debut albuttt. .llogtroi l'onng 'Ii'mn. With the blttster of "Like llerod~ and ‘.\logwai l’ear Satatt~ bookettding the sparse beauty of "I‘racy' attd the sombre Twin Peaks twang of ‘R l' Still ltt 2 It‘. ltere was a work way ahead of the bloated cry-baby ttottsettse of Radiohead attd 'l'he Very'e. llistory should recall l'otote learn as being the finest album of its year.
Longer gigs followed. Last year's show at the lidinbttrgh's Liquid Rooms was a titte display of sheer power. To quote the particularly annoying blooterhead behind ttte. it truly was Awesome! Awesome? Awesomel‘ 'l‘he secret of this power'.’ Focus.
‘1 think when you get to a certain age. you start to get hit with concerns that shouldn't haye anything to do
14 THE LIST ' ":99