Mogwai
Happy Songs For Happy People LP

Though "happy" isn't necessarily the first word that springs to mind when describing the band's intricate, brooding style, it is a word and emotion that is both simple and profound, much like the direction Mogwai's music takes here. Happy Songs for Happy People takes the focus and restraint of Rock Action to greater lengths, but it never feels like a rehash of their previous work. The palette of sounds the band uses -- which includes rolling guitars and pianos, swelling strings, persuasive but un-showy drumming, and occasional forays into distortion and electronics -- is a relatively small one, but the band uses it wisely on tracks as diverse as the lovely, understated "Kids Will Be Skeletons" (arguably the "happiest" song on the album) and the gloriously dense finale, "Stop Coming to My House," which piles layers and layers of distorted drums, guitars, and synths atop each other. Mogwai also employs its usual quietly beautiful/explosively noisy dynamic formula expertly, particularly on the gorgeous "Killing All the Flies," which feels much longer (in a good way) than four and a half minutes.

NEW / Released in 2003 / 2018

Tracklist:

A1 Hunted By A Freak

A2 Moses? I Amn't

A3 Kids Will Be Skeletons

A4 Killing All The Flies

A5 Boring Machines Disturbs Sleep

B1 Ratts Of The Capital

B2 Golden Porsche

B3 I Know You Are But What Am I?  

B4 Stop Coming To My House