Mogwai, Rock Action (Matador) 9+
Rock Action is a deliberately ironic title for the Glasgow band's third album. One might say they're breaking the boundaries of rock, but the 38 minutes contained within have less to do with power chords and head-nodding than inner turmoil and contemplation. That's not to say it's all sedate navel-gazing. There's passion in those slow-moving songs. And a fairly radical departure from their first two albums. For one thing, they have introduced vocals with Stuart Braithwaite handling the duties with all the somber ennui of Ian Curtis. On "Dial: Revenge," Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys contributes lyrics sung in Welsh. Gone are the Slint and Tortoise influences -- or at least they are receding into the horizon. Part of this is due to Flaming Lips/Mercury Rev/Delgados producer Dave Fridmann. Rock Action serves up more sonic diversity than their previous work, augmenting the dry guitars and brittle drums with strings, horns and, in "O I Sleep," sublime piano by Barry Burns. All is not lush, however. Mogwai keeps you alert by bristling now and then, as on the opening track, "Sine Wave," where a Godspeed You Black Emperor-like grandeur is accented by not-quite excruciating electronic distortion that would fit comfortably on a Kid 606 production. On "2 Rights Make 1 Wrong," the scratchy early-Oval style static can't dispel the reverie cast by the swells and orchestral stretches, tickled by banjo plucks and even a choir. It's as if, after being whisked away by aliens on "Take Me Somewhere Nice," the band are descending back to earth in a post-coital afterglow. Abduction never felt so good.
