Showing posts with label Aidan Moffat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aidan Moffat. Show all posts

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Songs: Ohia - The Lioness

For Jason Molina's fourth album as Songs: Ohia, The Lioness, he decamped to Scotland and recorded with Alasdair Roberts and David Gow and Aidan Moffat from Arab Strap.  The results were released in 2000, and from the opening chords of The Black Crow it's clear things his outlook has darkened a little.  Molina sings a long, bleak tale of dead crows and getting weaker over simple, descending chords. The track builds gradually, developing into a pounding rhythm towards the end.  Tigress shows that he can still do slinky, and this one harks back to previous albums like Impala or Axxess & Ace.  The sound of the album is pretty consistent throughout, tracks like Nervous Bride, Coxcomb Red and the title track work as a song cycle, rather than a bunch of songs just bundled together.  Being In Love sounds like it's using one of Arab Strap's drum machines as Molina sings "being in love means you are completely broken".  Later, Back On Top and Baby Take A Look are two of the sparser, slower moments here, with echoes of Smog thoughout both.

Definitely stronger than its predecessors, The Lioness shows a major leap forward Jason Molina, setting him up for future, fuller albums.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Album Review: Mogwai - Young Team

I'll admit it, I struggle with early Mogwai. Their debut, Young Team came out in 1997 and I've always found it a little... imposing. Opening track Yes! I Am A Long Way From Home nicely squeezes the essence of early Mogwai into a concise six minutes, lumbering bass heavy tempos, doody melodies and occasional guitar crunch. 


But the album is probably best known for its second track, the 11 minute Like Herod, which mopes along for two minutes before becoming very quiet indeed. This is the time to get scared, the quieter the track gets, because you know that sooner or later there's going to be a wallop of guitars which, even though I know it's coming, still manages to frighten the bejasus out of me.


After this, the rest of the album seems a little low-key. Katrien does the moody Mogwai thing perfectly, and after brief piano piece Radar Maker, they even find time for a bit of beauty, on the glockenspiel-led Tracy. The guitars are turned down a notch or two so as not to disturb an exquisite melody, though they come roaring back in on following track Summer.


Another piano piece With Portfolio collapses into noise before its conclusion before Aidan Moffat takes lead vocals on the shimmeringly melodic R U Still In 2 It. His understated delivery works really well before being joined by the rest of the band. A Cheery Wave From Stranded Youngsters is a kind of awkward piano shuffle before the epic final track Mogwai Fear Satan. A sixteen minute running time gives the wall of guitars ample time to ebb and flow, startling and soothing in equal measure, even fitting in a flute halfway through.


You can almost hear the band setting down a template for modern instrumental rock. In my opinion, they have more enjoyable albums, but this one truly shows off Mogwai's range of dynamics.