Description
Young Team will probably always be my favourite Mogwai album, as I associate it with a certain period of time and it was the first thing I bought by them. That's not to say the things released before & after have no value- My Father the King & Happy Songs for Happy People were standout releases. I had been listening to lots of old Echo & the Bunnymen and Joy Division records when this came out, & it fitted with those- the next step on, no need for vocals. This is probably where the post-rock tag came in...& Mogwai stand out as one of those post-rock (or should it be post-Slint?) acts who espousemore… an indie (pre-Britpop/Corporate perversion) aesthetic & create soundscapes from what was once guitar rock- see also: Explosions in the Sky, Godspeed You Black Emperor!,Gwei-Lo, Labradford, Silver Mt Zion, Sigur Ros etc...This reissue of Young Team comes with three bonus tracks- Superheroes of BMX, Now You're Taken and StereoD- though these tracks will be familiar to anyone who has the recenly reissued Ep+6 . Quite simply, the original ten tracks are more than enough- Young Team saw the band with additional member Brendan O'Hare (Teenage Fanclub, Telstar Ponies, Fiend 1)rename themselves as bionic, Cpt.Meat, DEMONIC, pLasmatroN * +the relic+ . In interviews they sounded like Steve Albini on vitriol pills, which was fantastic; released on Chemical Underground Records (owned by The Delgados), Young Team was the standout album of 1997...The titles alone are perfect (a cheery wave from stranded youngsters; yes i am a long way from home)- as an album that contrasts and flows and comes together, it is simply perfect. Early single Summer (see Ten Rapid) is re-recorded and its melodic nature contrasts well with the following With Portfolio- which drifts from minimal piano lull to full-on-avant-garde sonic assault- as a lover of noise, from Metal Machine Music to From Here to Infinity & back to Frankie Teardrop- it's a standout moment and sets the scene for R U Still in 2 It, which features the voice of Aidan Moffat- the only thing close to a conventional vocal here...The opening is always mindblowing, Yes! I am a Long Way From Home builds over five-minutes as a voice talks beneath...a great sense of space is here. But this is only setting the scene for the 11 or so minutes that are Like Herod- a song that has to be heard at 11, preferably in the dark. I love the way the song builds and then suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a terrifying post-Sabbath riff comes in. A moment. Katrien, Radar Maker and Tracy all fuse together well- Katrien less savage than Like Herod, Radar Maker recalling Husker Du's Monday Will Never Be the Same & Tracy seven minutes of ambient-inflected guitar with strange anonymous voices, as if drifting through a radio dial. I wonder why the people who made 28 Days Later used GSYBE! when they could have used the homegrown talents of Mogwai? This would make a suitable soundtrack for a post-apocalyptic world...The best is saved for last- a cheery wave from stranded youngsters another brief piano-inflected moment setting the tone for the epic Mogwai Fear Satan (just over 16-minutes). Someone was writing about My Bloody Valentine in Uncut magazine and claimed that Loveless could be seen as the end of rock. But I think not- as there is Mogwai Fear Satan, which could be seen as another end. There's always mileage in guitars- & just wen you think you can only listen to drill'n'bass, obscure artists who explode the first time you listen to them, Muldovian ambient explorers of keta-dub, or discovering the joys of early Dire Straits...there's always a band like Mogwai who will pop up and prove there is life in the thing called rock. & they're not alone- The For Carnation, Low, Royal Trux, Jim O'Rourke,GSYBE!, Explosions in the Sky, even Radiohead make me realise that Loveless isn't the end of rock. This post-stage is a bit endless though...Mogwai Fear Satan is a song that may be 16-minutes long, but is one I lose myself in and never seems long enough. It sounds like the next step on from a track like Good Morning Captain. The Kevin Shields reworking of Mogwai Fear Satan, found on the remix collection Kicking a Dead Pig (1998), as well as the e.p. of the same name is as compulsive and obligatory...Young Team remains for me a reminder, a wake up call for how mindblowing guitar music can be- I'd rank it up there with any head music (Eno, Glass, Branca, Reich, Autechre, Faust, Neu!)and also any rock album (Back in Black, Dub Housing, Marquee Moon, The Perfect Prescription, 69, Metal Box, Thaw, Zen Arcade). It's a treasure, an album I've lost myself in countless times and one that I listen to over and over. Mogwai rule and Young Team is the greatest album ever released. Admit it...
| 1 |
Yes! I Am a Long Way from Home |
| 2 |
Like Herod |
| 3 |
Katrien |
| 4 |
Radar Maker |
| 5 |
Tracy |
| 6 |
Summer [Priority Version] |
| 7 |
With Portofolio |
| 8 |
R U Still in 2 It? |
| 9 |
Cheery Wave from Stranded Youngsters |
| 10 |
Mogwai Fear Satan |
Info:
- Category:
- Music > Albums
- Case Type:
- CD
- Release Type:
- Retail
- Comments:
- 1 read add
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Cover Info:
- Title:
- Mogwai - Young Team (2004) Retail CD
- Part:
- Front
- Dimensions:
- 1413 x 1390 px
- Size:
- 710 KB
- Downloads:
- 1114 (0 today)
- Uploaded:
- 26/01/10 by pontiacc
- Quality Rating:
-
- Currently 4.5/5 Stars.
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