Mogwai: Earth Division (Rock Action)

Just realised that i never wrote about the Mogwai album - t'was one of those things that i listened to incessantly and filed it away without writing about it. Lovely boxed set it was as well, and the best mogwai album in years - maybe even their best ever. This EP is more of the same, in that it showcases this new thoughtful highly artistic side to Mogwai whereby the music leads them - rather than the volume dynamics. Bookended by two subtle instrumentals that seem to function better as intros & outros rather than fully formed songs (and this is not a criticism - both tracks sound like edits of something much longer)  i feel that, if there is any failure here then it is that the tracks aren't 10 minute plus tracks. Standout track 'Drunk & Crazy' is fuzzed out static adventurousness either side of some beautifully arranged strings and succeeds in sounding far more epic than it actually is, such is the exciting structure of it. The only track that slightly fails is 'Hound of Winter' which, with it's 'normal' vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica, is a bold step but one that doesn't altogether work.

Mogwai are at their most exciting point, musically,  at the moment - they are creating a new sound that is a huge step forward but one that retains the same feeling as before, without endlessly rehashing the same old quiet/loud/repeat formula that, admittedly they did (do) so well.