Whereas Mr. Beast was good, but not as remarkable as their earlier efforts, Mogwai is shaping up to release something really special next month if “Batcat” and “Devil Rides” are any indication.
I was totally psyched when I heard that the the mighty Roky Erickson, legendary psychedelic cult hero, was going to appear on the new Mogwai jam hive The Hawk is Howling, already notorious for its most triumphant track listing and flea market-worthy cover art. It’s quite amazing that Roky is not only still alive, but making music today (though most of it is only a shadow of the 13th Floor Elevators’ reach). I mean, how many languages can you say “fuck yeah” in? I can only say it in one, and that’s English, so I will commence into cheering a loud “fuck yeah” for (probably) the most important duet since Michael Jackson and Eddie Murphy’s “Whatzupwitu.”
At first, I wasn’t too sure of “Devil Rides,” a somber, spacey four-minute forlorn canticle. I felt it suffered from the same issue as their collaboration with Gruff Rhys on “Dail: Revenge” from Rock Action, in that Mogwai is such a musically complex group that any vocal contribution becomes more distracting than interesting. The composition itself is actually kinda similar to “Dial: Revenge” – slow, syrupy, packed with strings swells, absolutely gorgeous. Upon repeated listens, however, I’ve grown to be quite affected by “Devil Rides,” if for no other reason than tangential associations. Though Roky seems to have lost a little melodic quality to his voice, hearing this LSD-casualty (named “the man who got too high” by The Guardian) sing with such a pained demeanor, thinking about how this man has been through hell and back as documented by You’re Gonna Miss Me, really provokes an immense, beautiful sadness. I really love the sense of paranoia “Devil Rides” exudes as well, like you’re hangin’ out in the Panopticon. Needless to say, the Mogwai-Roky collaboration will probably not be a #1 summer jam.
Not much to say about the another new Mogwai song I have, “Batcat,” other than it’s another excellent stoner metal nickel in the jar, continuing Mogwai’s new economical, compact, harmonics-saturated, unapologetically sinister direction in the vein Mr. Beast’s “Glasgow Mega Snake.” This cut is heavier than most naval ships.
If you pre-order the album directly the Matador, you receive $1 plus a free poster. I appreciate how Matador consistently tries to hook you up. It’s good for business.
While we’re on this subject, it’s as good of time as any to express my love for the Elevators and post a jam or two. The 13th Floor Elevators continue to be one of my favorite groups, and I feel I get a new listening experience each time I pump them on the ol’ ghetto blaster. As with the often-fabled Alexander Skip Spence and Syd Barrett, Erickson’s batshit-craziness (including his writing of a notarized document proclaiming his secession from Earth, legally declaring himself an extraterrestrial – see below) adds a certain mystique to their repertoire that many of their contemporaries just can’t reproduce.
“Till Then” is one of my favorites, and also one of the last songs Roky recorded with the group before he was arrested in 1969 on trumped-up drug charges, then later institutionalized. “May the Circle Remain Unbroken,” so very very different from “Till Then,” is the 13th Floor Elevators at their most haunting. “Batcat” actually makes a rather astounding companion to “Circle,” being similar in its unsettling, elegiac mood – bridging a 40 year gap of music from a troubled yet revolutionary songwriter.
MP3 :::
Mogwai – Devil Rides
Mogwai – Batcat
13th Floor Elevators – Till Then
13th Floor Elevators – May the Circle Remain Unbroken
