Mogwai aren’t known for being the most mainstream band on the planet: despite their success and long-standing reputation as rock goliaths, they’re a long way off moving to Japan and advertising toothpaste. They’re equally unlikely to be releasing a ‘Greatest Hits’ album anytime soon. So, for those of you looking to see the band given the Westlife treatment, I’m afraid that new live release Special Moves / Burning is probably as close as you’ll ever get. Recorded in Brooklyn last year, the 2-disc set CD/DVD presents fifteen classic tracks in all their live glory, validating the reputation that Mogwai have earned as one of the most intense performers on the circuit.
The Scottish rockers are known for their epic instrumentals and dark brooding sonic landscapes. Straight from the first bars of opening Track I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead, the band prove that their live performances are still keeping true to form: A progressive build-up of gentle piano strokes and lingering guitar reverb shows that even though the band tend to shy away from the microphone, their music has definitely got a lot to say.
The release launches through the Mogwai back catalogue, relentlessly swooping between recent hits and cult classics. One of the highlights comes in the form of Friend of the Night, a song which fuses dirty guitar tones with a melancholic, floating piano piece in arrestingly beautiful fashion. The inclusion of Hunted by a freak will come as no surprise to the legions of Mogwai fans as it has been a firm favourite since its release on their 2003 album, Happy Songs for Happy People. With sinister undertones to boot, the live version features a ghostly choir of reverb and enough eerie atmospherics to give Derek Acorah the willies.
Mogwai fear Satan is one of the longest songs in the Mogwai canon, yet the epic eleven minute live version gives the song a whole new dimension: layer upon layer of progressively frantic guitar tones form a convoluted and moving track, one which will undoubtedly get the heart pumping faster the more it unfolds. This is followed directly by Cody, a song which will certainly provoke no allegations of autotuning. Although there is no loss of atmosphere and moving distortion, it is the only track on the album to feature extensive vocals and is itself probably the best demonstration of why the band tend to stick to instrumentals.
Both Special Moves and Burning embrace all fourteen years of Mogwai’s history as a band, and no release seems to be given favouritism over the rest (especially 2008’s The Hawk is Howling, from which only four tracks are featured throughout). The whole performance recognises their versatility and evolution as a band, as each song is a distinct marker of their variety and originality. Mogwai shift constantly between phases, creating vivid atmospheres to prove just why they have been held in high esteem by so many for so long.
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