Mogwai, Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will

It’s been 14 years since Young Team was released, announcing the debut of post-rock’s then-newest practitioners, Mogwai. Since 1997, the genre has garnered quite a bit of attention in the film and television industry, with various post-rock bands scoring the soundtracks to The Fountain, Friday Night Lights, and Human Planet. Along with critical acclaim for songs like “2 Rights Make 1 Wrong” and “Christmas Steps” and tours with ’80s/’90s icons The Cure and Pixies, you’d expect Mogwai to receive the same publicity as post-rock brothers Sigur Rós or Explosions in the Sky.

For whatever reason, though, that simply isn’t the case, as the Scottish quintet has yet to fully break into the mainstream. However, this lack of public acknowledgement has yet to deter Mogwai, as they’ve just released their seventh full-length album, Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will.

Like all post-rock bands, Mogwai has never been good with words, and there is a strange humor to be found in song titles like “How To Be A Werewolf” and “Too Raging to Cheer.” With six previous albums, the band has little to offer in terms of how to revolutionize a well-defined genre, and Hardcore Will Never Die is no different. Mogwai have instead loosened up, as Hardcore Will Never Die lacks the seriousness of previous albums.

Outside of “You’re Lionel Ritchie,” Mogwai’s signature style of oscillating between quiet, brooding tones and full on white noise is traded in for more traditional structures. First track “White Noise” encapsulates this newfound outlook, with the very Mogwai-like use of heavy effects and background distortion used to accompany cleaner keyboard melodies. The same kind of stripped-down mentality is seen in “How to Be A Werewolf,” which is filled with traditional pop sensibilities yet still retains a very Mogwai-esque sound.

At times, this change betrays them, as songs like “San Pedro” and “George Square Thatcher Death Party” sound less like post-rock and more like the instrumental cuts for any generic alternative rock band. The aforementioned songs highlight the difficulty of post-rock and Hardcore as a whole: you cannot simply remove vocals; you must fill that crucial void. Too many times, Hardcore Will Never Die fails to deliver an experience that can stand on its own, completely independent of vocals.

Throughout the album, you’re left wanting more, and in the end, Hardcore Will Never Die is slightly uncomfortable, inevitably leaving you to ask, “Is this it?”