Mogwai will release their new 4-track EP, ‘Earth Division’ next week on September 13th, but you can already listen to it, as the whole EP stream over on the Guardian this week.
When listening to the first track ‘Get to France’, I was wondering whether it was the same band I saw not too long ago! We are very far away from ‘Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will’ indeed! The song is a simple piano-driven cinematic ballad, with overwhelming strings,… it sounds like a soundtrack for some French dramatic movie, the kind where nothing really happens in front of your eyes.
The second track, ‘Hound of Winter’, is even more surprising for the Scottish band, as it has vocals, soft and quiet ones, slowly unfolding above the string-piano-accordion combination. It sounds like an early morning ballad.
With ‘Drunk and Crazy’ they go back to fuzziness and noise, and it was about time! It’s a longer track too, more Mogwai-esque at the beginning, with undecipherable voices and a sort of drama set by more distortion, but, oh surprise,… it breaks apart after a few minutes to let the strings, then a plain piano take over with passion and brilliance when the murkiness is back.
The last track ‘Does this always happen’ lets us in a desolated place with a few notes, hypnotic, turning in ascending circles without being boring, the sort of thing that can be almost comforting by its repetitiveness.
It’s quite a departure from their previous work, but you probably will make your own movie while listening to it here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2011/sep/07/mogwai-earth-division-ep-stream
Mogwai also still has a couple of dates left on the East Coast. Don’t miss them:
Sep 26 Webster Hall, New York City, NY
Sep 27 Webster Hall, New York City, NY
Sep 28 Starlight Ballroom, Philadelphia, PA
Sep 29 930 Club, Washington, DC
Sep 30 Asbury Park Convention (NJ), Asbury Park, NJ
Oct 01 House of Blues (Boston), Boston, MA