Album Review: Mogwai - Every Country's Sun

Historically, Glaswegian post-rock icons Mogwai have built their reputation on angst-ridden arrangements of sparse, looped, guitar-driven melancholy.

They turned a corner in 2011 with Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will, a triumphant record of sun-drenched power-rock blearing down from the upper atmosphere. Their new record - their ninth, and their first since 2001's watershed album Rock Action working with producer Dave Fridmann - is not as commanding, but is perhaps more cosmic, with strange sci-fi textures bleeding in.

Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will was a blown-out spectacle, and their follow-up, Rave Tapes, saw Mogwai pulling their sound apart for a closer look (with mixed results). Every Country's Sun is the sound of a band consciously detached from their high-browed rock-oriented past and simply enjoying themselves. The last few minutes of Crossing The Road Material is the best example of this: it's an extended blast from rocket jet guitar chords, with a soothing ambient drone coasting along underneath, and skittish little digital sparks blooming here and there. AKA 47 could've been a collaboration with Boards Of Canada, with its warped edges and woozy key patterns, and Battered At A Scramble is a giddy, down-tuned Smashing Pumpkins B-side.

This is Mogwai's most thoroughly enjoyable release in a long time.