Logo
DiS Needs You: Save our site »
  • Logo_home2
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • In Photos
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Search
  • Community
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • Blog
  • Community

THIS SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED AND CLOSED.

Please join the conversation over on our new forums »

If you really want to read this, try using The Internet Archive.

105676

Live Review

Mogwai @ Meltdown
Mogwai @ Meltdown
chrisshipman by Chris Shipman June 25th, 2018

As with many of the acts on this year’s blistering Meltdown festival bill, you get the sense that being handpicked by Cure frontman Robert Smith to perform at Royal Festival Hall on London’s Southbank is something of a dream come true for Mogwai.

The Cure are, of course, a huge influence on Stuart Braithwaite’s Glaswegian post-rockers – evident in the tense and bleak atmospheres the band have conjured ever since their 1996 debut, Young Team: "I was definitely a bit of a goth, and still am at heart, I just have no hair to dye black any more", Braithwaite memorably quipped a few years back.

Sandwiched between performances by Deftones and Nine Inch Nails, Mogwai are here with a set drawn from across their back catalogue - in a programme boasting the cream of post-rock talent (65daysofstatic and MONO among them), Mogwai are the kings of the hill; top of the heap.

For an act whose focus is musical layering, dynamic interplay, and symphony-esque movement-based structures, it’s an apt venue - with its modernist splendour usually home to orchestras, tonight Royal Festival Hall sees a troupe of five make more noise than a pit of one hundred could ever hope to muster. Indeed, they make a jumbo jet sound like a farting mouse in comparison.

Mogwai have long been capable of moments of astonishing sonic ultra-violence, and those here for a bout of cochlea-bashing aren’t disappointed - a blistering rendition of ‘Old Poisons’ from latest release Every Country’s Sun sees guitars screeching and touring drummer Cat Myers relentlessly bludgeon her kit to the delight of those in the stalls, who clamber to their feet in appreciation. Similarly fierce is the rumbling bass bombast of 'My Father My King', with its searing eastern-tinged melody ratcheting the tension up and up over the course of its 15-minute duration.

There are quieter moments too though, and cheers greet the Slint-inspired spider guitar intro to early cut 'Take Me Somewhere Nice', one of the few tracks here to feature vocals from frontman Braithwaite, breathily crooning into the microphone from behind an uber-cool Fender Jazzmaster. Recent single 'Coolverine' also ploughs a calmer furrow – its icy tremolo melodies shimmering over jagged staccato percussion.

Veterans of numerous soundtracks, Mogwai have long had a flair for the cinematic. And if there’s any justice, ‘Don’t Believe the Fife’ will pop up on screen sooner rather than later – its eerie robotic lilt harking back to big and small screen moments from Zidane, Les Revenants and Atomic.

Disappearing off stage to a standing ovation at the evening’s close, Mogwai remain a cut above. Just Like Heaven indeed.


Meltdown curated by Robert Smith takes place from the 15 to 24 June at London’s Southbank Centre. For more information and tickets, please visit the festival’s official website.

Photo Credit: Vic Frankowski

![105676](http://dis.resized.images.s3.amazonaws.com/540x310/105676.jpeg)


LATEST


  • Drowned in Sound is back!


  • Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Year: 2020


  • Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter


  • Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing


  • Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alternative must sees


  • A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

Share on
   
Love DiS? Become a Patron of the site here »


Left-arrow

How To Organise A Music Festival #17:...

Mobback
105675
105677

pg.lost @ Meltdown

Mobforward
Right-arrow


LATEST

    news


    Drowned in Sound is back!

  • 106143
  • news


    Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Y...

  • 106141

    news


    Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter

  • 106139
  • Playlist


    Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing

  • 106138

    Festival Preview


    Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alterna...

  • 106137
  • Interview


    A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

  • 106136

    Festival Review


    Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019

  • 106135
  • Festival Review


    25 years of SPOT Festival: DiS Picks Its Best 11

  • 106134
MORE


    feature


    Why winners always quit, OR: The Gonzo Guide To...

  • 21429
  • feature


    Mogwai on Radiohead: Robin Hoods or Robbing Gits?

  • 66649

    feature


    Radiohead's Kid A - the DiS re-appraisal

  • 101472
  • news


    Drowned in Sound is back!

  • 106143

    Staff-generated


    Year 2000 - A Playlist of Songs Wot Soundtracke...

  • 53565
  • news


    Q1 Digest: Most Read and Editor's Recommended R...

  • 94692

    Artist-generated


    Rappers and Melody: An Analysis by Chilly Gonzales

  • 96777
  • feature


    The Critic Sleeps Alone Tonight... Fighting Ove...

  • 93699
MORE
Drowned in Sound
  • DROWNED IN SOUND
  • HOME
  • SITE MAP
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • IN PHOTOS
  • RECORDS
  • RECOMMENDED RECORDS
  • ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
  • FESTIVAL COVERAGE
  • COMMUNITY
  • MUSIC FORUM
  • SOCIAL BOARD
  • REPORT ERRORS
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • FOLLOW DiS
  • GOOGLE+
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
  • SHUFFLER
  • TUMBLR
  • YOUTUBE
  • RSS FEED
  • RSS EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
  • MISC
  • TERM OF USE
  • PRIVACY
  • ADVERTISING
  • OUR WIKIPEDIA
© 2000-2023 DROWNED IN SOUND