Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will

When will Mogwai make a bad record? I have long wanted to write about Martin Bulloch, but despite his awesome playing, I couldn't find anything on previous Mogwai records that I hadn't already talked about with some other similar players. Instead of forcing it, I figured I would just wait, and lo and behold, Mogwai released Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will and this post practically writes itself.

On previous records, Martin would usually adjust the volume of his playing to change and affect the mood. Quiet playing for quiet parts, loud playing for loud parts. Simple really, and effective. But with HWNDBYW he plays hard, with consistent volume and relies more on the technique to push things forward, and it's fucking great. Take a song like Mexican Grand Prix which starts with a bare kick/snare pattern. It's already pretty punchy and has a lot of momentum, and then simply by adding the high hat he takes it so much further. Nicely placed high hat flourishes and snare/cymbal hits keep things interesting, but it's always grounded. This is a drummer who we've been able to hear mature over the last few Mogwai records, and it's a big contributor to why Mogwai are still an interesting and relevant band sixteen years into their career.

We get sort of a throwback to early Mogwai with songs like Rano Pano and Death Waves, which have pretty consistent guitar/bass patterns, allowing Martin a little more room to play with the timing and drive of his patterns. It's incredible how rooted his feet and snare had stay while he travels around his drums, the man is a rock.

Martin seems to have developed a better feel for softness as well, giving us some really lush brush playing of Letters To The Metro. It's one of the slowest tracks, but it is one of my favorites.

Bulloch is an example of a good drummer taking a proper look at his rhythmic position in his band, and over time finding a way to let his personality and style shine through the limitations, becoming a great drummer. I don't think there is a bad track on this record, and it's insane to think that a band that has been together for sixteen years is still recording some of the best music of their careers.

Mogwai and Lady Gaga are both playing in Montreal on April 25th. I'm driving up from Halifax. I'm going to let you guess who I'm going to go see.

BDK News - Kuato Winter EP

My instrumental band Kuato have released our second EP. It has 3 songs and is 30 minutes long. You can get it for free from the Acadian Embassy.

The Holy Shroud - Ghost Repeaters

Loel Campbell is the real fucking deal. Genuine talent mixed with imagination and stamina. I've seen him play fill in sets for Kary and Trephines, two bands that are part of every Yarmouth County musician's DNA, and whom have albums that have aged better than most. I've seen him play countless times with Wintersleep and Contrived, his two main outfits for a while. I've seen him take part in the blossoming of Holy Fuck, the little band that could. I've seen him double up on the drums for an entire Jon Epworth set (alongside Mike Belyea, whom I've written about already. You can watch a clip of it here). Shit, I've seen Loel play more shows than any other drummer. I'm sure no one will be surprised to see me writing about him.

I was so close to writing about one of the Contrived records, but I just knew that I would start writing and get lost on how to sum up how fucking awesome those records/that band are. There is just too much history there to cram it into a blog post.

The Holy Shroud's history is much simpler.

1/2 North Of America +

1/2 Contrived

= One hell of a rock band.

When The Holy Shroud formed I had just started to come to the city for shows, and I saw them play at The Idiot with Radarfame. They came out all dressed in white with white ski masks on and they ripped through their set flailing around and blowing everyone away. It looked sort of this.

As far as drumming goes, this is Loel at his most spastic and uninhibited. The energy never wanes, but his playing never loses focus. He is completely locked in with Mike Bigelow's bass, and this record is one of many examples of why those two were the most sought after rhythm section in Halifax when they lived here. The amount of sweat that went into these songs is unimaginable. For a brief period The Holy Shroud were the best band in Halifax, even opening up for The Arcade Fire during their legendary performance at The Marquee for the Halifax Pop Explosion. We might only have one full length record to remember them by, but what an album it is.

The thing about Loel's drumming is that it has that little extra touch that can never be emulated. You can always tell when it's him on the skins, but you can't pinpoint how. I think one of my favorite songs is Landmarks to Postmarks, where the drums and guitars are totally in sync, only to have the guitars drop out and the drums take the lead. The rolls in Calling In Confederate Debts are also lightning fast and perfectly executed, candy to a drummers ear.

If you have been paying attention to anything musically you'll know that Loel is constantly breaking new ground with Wintersleep (the band just performed on David Letterman, the first for a Nova Scotian band) and if you've done any research you know about Contrived and all of the Dependent Music bands he was involved in. I'm hoping that if you've never heard this album you'll seek it out, because it's a treasure worth finding. The amount of quality albums Loel has played on is massive, and it gets larger every year. Hopefully this one won't get lost in the past.