release date: Jan. 21, 2014
format: digital (10 x File, MP3)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,12]
producer: Paul Savage
label: Rock Action Records - nationality: Scotland, UK
Track highlights: 1. "Heard About You Last Night" - 3. "Remurdered" - 5. "Repelish" - 6. "Master Card" - 10. "The Lord Is Out of Control"
8th studio album by Mogwai following only a little more than a week after the ep release of Music Industry 3. Fitness Industry 1. (Jan. 12, 2014) and 1 year after the soundtrack album Les Revenants, and more directly, following 3 full years after their most recent studio album: Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will (Feb. 2011). Although, almost released together with an ep, this full-length doesn't share much of the style from that. Three tracks (#3, #9, #10) share titles with tracks from the ep, but here they have been re-arranged and are not easily identifiable with the versions on the ep. This brand new album comes with ten new tracks and a total running time around 49 minutes that altogether reflects more confined and shorter compositions than what they used to throw in. Here, the tracks run from 2:35 to 6:25 minutes as the longest, but the relative narrow time span of tracks is not the most striking trait about this - instead the music has grown into more electronically-founded with what you may label as synthwave with less focus on their noise rock background centrered on guitar sound. In that respect, Rave Tapes sound more contemporary with its stronger electronic sound, although, the title doesn't give what it may suggest - but that's Mogwai, right! meaning: things don't necessarily mean what they suggest. "Rave" is diffinitely not to be taken literally. They incorporate electronics to a larger extent, but the irony is that it doesn't exactly blow off the roof of anything. I find that no specific tracks demand one's attention, which makes the album a bit of a bland experience, and in general, I wish the band would be more explicit - as they are on the fine Music Industry.. ep. Rave Tapes doesn't sound as a band wanting to demonstrate how far they have come but more like another score to a film, and the album is just not one of their most challenging works. Despite my feelings, this became Mogwai's first album to ever peak as high as number #10 on the UK albums chart list. Previously, Hardcore Will Never Die... had reached number #25 and Rock Action number #23.
Not recommended.
[ bandcamp ]
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, 👍Pitchfork 6 / 10 stars ]
