We Love the City

The monologue is my preferred method of discourse.

Friday Music: EMA, Boris, Nothing, Mogwai


Erika M Andersons’ previous album, Past Life Martyred Saints, was one of those albums I liked & admired, but didn’t love. It was dark, moody, and emotional, and something I should have adored, but it just didn’t click for reasons I can’t fully explain.

There are no such problems with Future Void*, which is one of the best things I’ve listened to in 2014. It’s noisy (opener Satellites) fun (grungey pop So Blonde), and emotional (3jane, which is almost certainly going to appear on some soundtracks.)

Boris used to be really heavy. If you were concerned that Attention Please was too light, and Heavy Rocks just wasn’t heavy enough, maybe this will make you feel better. Quicksilver packs in 2 or 3 different loud songs into its running time, and they all kick some sort of ass. Their upcoming album is title Noise, which is also kind of reassuring.

I am a sucker for Shoegaze. Frankly, I’m rather disappointed that I didn’t get to experience it properly the first time around – I was too young and living in the suburbs when the pinnacle of the genre – Ride’s Nowhere – came out in 1990.

So I’ll happily listen to Nothing, who aren’t doing anything particularly new, but do it well nonetheless.

Unlike many, I wasn’t introduced to Mogwai with Young Team, but with Come On Die Young. I can’t say it’s a better album – though I’ve never been so infatuated with Young Team, aside from Mogwai Fear Satan – but it was one of the first post-rock instrumental albums I ever listened to. It’s getting a 15th anniversary reissue, which makes me feel kind of old even though I didn’t buy it when it first came out.

Ex-Cowboy remains one of my favourite Mogwai tracks. Listening to it always makes me think of watching a