Mogwai: A Wrenched Virile Lore

December 27, 2012

Sub Pop

On this rewiring of their Sub Pop debut Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will, Mogwai bequeaths their wares to the modern age’s most able-bodied button pushers. Godflesh/Jesu mastermind Justin K. Broadrick draws out the damaged dream-pop of “George Thatcher Death Party,” while Philly space synth-duo Zombi turn “Letters to the Metro” into some lost incidental music from Halloween III. Elsewhere, Tim Hecker reconfigures “Rano Pano” into a buggy glitch-hop throwdown and guitarist RM Hubbert conjures the acoustical intricacy of “Mexican Grand Prix.” But it is Robert Hampson’s “La Mort Blanche” – a 14-minute mash-up of “George Square” and “White Noise” – that takes the cake, as the former Loop guru combines the songs into a seamless, spatial spiritual of intertwined intoxication. Such creative expansion wears well on the slow-burning Scots, and it would be great if we get to see more of Lore’s adventurousness on their next full-length.

Artist: Ron Hart
Album: A Wrenched Virile Lore