Mogwai - "Boltfor"

Mogwai follow-up last year's excellent As the Love Continues with a standalone single, "Boltfor."

By now, we know what to expect from Mogwai, a band that has slowly refined their sound over the years without really ever losing themselves in the process. As post-rock pioneers, they've become reliable in their scene without sacrificing their sound or reverting to something that you might think of as safe. They create towering epics with soaring, surging guitars that crescendo in grandiose fashion. Over the years they've added some electronic elements which now make up a core part of their sound, but overall, they still sound like Mogwai. Last year, they release As the Love Continues, their best work in years and their first album to hit number 1 on the charts (in the UK). Today, they're back with a song that was written for that album, but didn't end up getting recorded until March 2022 so they're sharing it now as they kick-off their European tour. Again, this one is full of guttural guitar blasts that are underlined by crystalline synths and a ringing melody that has an ebb and flow which creates joyful bursts of noise. This is full of the bombast that Mogwai has expertly been crafting for years and show they're just as powerful in one-off stints as they are in full-blown albums. This is cinematic in scope and massive in size, capturing all of the sounds and emotions that make it impossible for this to come from anyone else. Mogwai know their audience and know how to deliver results. This is just another example of them hitting their mark with extreme precision.