Why Do Metalheads Love Mogwai?
Why do metalheads love Mogwai?
I don’t mean that in a bad way, as in, “Why the fuck do metalheads bother with this band?”
I mean it in a curious way. Mogwai are a good band, but they aren’t really heavy at all; what is it about their music that has made them such a magnet for metal fans?
Mogwai certainly attract all types of music listeners, but I’ve known many a metalhead to strongly sing the band’s praises, and even travel great distances to see them live.
Spoon are another band I’d put in this category. Maybe even Sigur Ros. Neither have jack shit to do with metal, yet both are adored by metalheads the world over.
I have to mostly claim ignorance when it comes to Mogwai’s music. I’ve only heard a handful of their tracks over the years, all of which I’ve liked well enough, but the band’s never really stuck with me. I can’t call myself a fan.
Still, I totally get it: I’m checking out their new song “Party in the Dark,” and I hear why people dig this band. Based on just this single it’d be easy for a metalhead to make a snap-judgment and lump them in with oft-hated indie acts like The Arcade Fire and The Decemberists, but there’s a certain sensibility here that separates Mogwai from those bands and their ilk. Their music rocks, yeah, there’s that. But it’s also got a certain level of nuance and complexity to it. That, I think, is the metal parallel.
Their last album, Les Revenants, might be a better example than this indie-pop new single. It’s way darker in tone, and it builds, wanes, shudders, quakes, pulsates and breathes; it’s like Neurosis, but in indie rock form. Even their new album’s first single, “Coolverine,” nails that much more sinister vibe — I’m embedding it below as well.
New album Every Country’s Sun comes out on September 1st via Temporary Residence; I’ll be looking forward to hearing more. Pre-order here, and get world tour dates through the end of the year below.
August 19 – Hostess Club All-Nighter, Chiba
September 8 – Festival No.6, Portmeirion
October 10 – Rockefeller, Oslo
October 11 – Nobelberget, Stockholm
October 12 – KB, Malmo
October 13 – Vega, Copenhagen
October 14 – Columbiahalle, Berlin
October 16 – Docks, Hamburg
October 17 – E-Werk, Koeln
October 18 – Aeronef, Lille
October 20 – AB Main Hall, Brussels
October 21 – AB Main Hall, Brussels
October 22 – Tivoli Vredenburg Ronda, Utrecht
October 23 – Grand Rex, Paris
October 25 – Riviera, Madrid
October 26 – Reithalle @ Kaserne Basel, Basel
October 27 – Fabrique, Milan
October 28 – Atlantico, Rome
October 29 – Estragon, Bologna
October 31 – Roxy, Prague
November 1 – Arena, Vienna
November 2 – Täubchenthal, Leipzig
November 3 – Backstage, Munich
November 18/19 – Corona Capital Fest, Mexico
November 20 – Observatory N. Park, San Diego
November 21 – Belasco Theater, Los Angeles
November 22 – Regency Ballroom, San Francisco
November 23 – Roseland Theater, Portland
November 24 – The Showbox, Seattle
November 25 – Commodore Ballroom. Vancouver
November 28 – Ogden Theatre, Denver
November 30 – The Waiting Room, Omaha
December 1 – First Avenue, Minneapolis
December 2 – House of Blues, Chicago
December 3 – Majestic Theatre, Detroit
December 5 – Danforth Music Hall, Toronto
December 6 – Corona Theatre, Montreal
December 7 – Royale Nightclub, Boston
December 8 – Terminal 5, New York
December 9 – Theatre of Living Arts, Philadelphia
December 10 – 9:30 Club, Washington
December 15 – O2 Academy Brixton, London
December 16 – The SSE Hydro, Glasgow
