If there is any band that simply refuse to rest on their laurels, it is Mogwai. The Scottish post-rock outfit has enjoyed the status of titans of their genre since the late nineties. Despite their widespread acclaim, Mogwai has continued to release new material at a seemingly exponential rate that would make any Radiohead fan jealous. It appears that the Glasgow quintet has a very comfortable and productive relationship with each other. There are, however, tradeoffs involved in this type of relationship. The solace of routine can narrow the disorderly paths to creativity. On Rave Tapes, Mogwai tend to straddle the line between retreading old material and pushing forward into unfamiliar territory. The album contains moments of middling routine-ness but is saved by the talent and artistry we have come to expect from Mogwai.
The album opens with the pleasingly minimalistic track “Heard About You Last Night,” the slow development and subtle textures of this song bring to mind the works of contemporary composers such as Arvo Part, and is a reminder as to why this band is so sought after for soundtrack work. The album drifts into electronic territory with the songs “Simon Ferocious” and “Remurdered," the latter sounding like it was inspired by the music of 1980s arcade games.
Of course, anyone who has seen Mogwai's live show knows that this band is fond of drastic dynamic sweeps, with crescendos dominated by ear-splitting waves of distorted guitars. Rave Tapes shows flashes of this side of the band. Songs like “Hexon Bogon” and “Master Card” are urgent, guitar-driven, rockers, that beg to be played at high volume levels. The b-side drags a bit with songs like “Deesh” that are overly-repetitive and lack any kind of sonic payoff. “Blues Hour”, the only song to feature clean vocals, it starts off sounding like the band Low but slowly drifts into doom metal territory. Thankfully the album finishes strong with the song “The Lord is Out of Control”, a vocoder driven track that unfolds beautifully and is on par with some of best songs in the band's extensive catalogue.
While Rave Tapes does flirt with being formulaic, it is a formula that only Mogwai can pull off. For die-hard fans of the band, this album has a lot to offer and, like many of their albums, is rewarding to return to again and again. If you are not a fan of the band by now, this album won't change that. Mogwai has elected not to stray to far beyond what we have come to expect from them on Rave Tapes, for better or for worse. The results yield no surprises or disappointments.
Grade: B-
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