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THE PICCADILLY RECORDS ALBUM OF THE YEAR 2021.

“To The Bin My Friend, Tonight We Vacate Earth'' seems an overwhelmingly prescient phrase to begin an album with, almost as if Benjamin John Powers knew Mogwai would use it for what is certainly their most celestially euphoric and soaringly majestic album to date. It's taken 25 long years since their first single, but it's entirely unsurprising that the people have recognised As The Love Continues as a masterpiece worthy of a UK No.1 album spot, and I would absolutely hasten to agree. Turns out the rest of the staff did too, so here we are.

From the first moments of “To The Bin My Friend..”, it's clear that Mogwai's melodic blend of instrumental rock has undertaken a significant shift towards brighter climes in this instance, with gigantic walls of distortion piercing through the flickering percussion and synth swells below, bringing to mind the tectonic heft of Young Team but with the pop sensibilities brought about on Happy Songs.. or the unbelievably brilliant Mr. Beast.

We've described this album as a 'Best Of' a few times, but that's clearly not in the traditional sense, it's not a compilation by any means and flows like a well sequenced album, but the themes explored are in every way the pinnacle of their sound and encompass everything that Mogwai fans love to hear. The difference here is that EVERYONE is welcome, with the more pop elements like “Ritchie Sacramento” (my song of the decade without a doubt) taking the heavy hitting instrumentals and injecting them with a moody, spine-tingling vocal melody. Later, pieces like “Fuck Off Money” bring things down a little before hitting us with the punky octave athleticism and rolling bass of “Ceiling Granny” or the cinematic orchestration of “Midnight Flit”. It's an absolute triumph, and in my opinion, the most worthy end of year winner yet.

TRACK LISTING

1. To The Bin My Friend, Tonight We Vacate Earth
2. Here We, Here We, Here We Go Forever
3. Dry Fantasy
4. Ritchie Sacramento
5. Drive The Nail
6. Fuck Off Money
7. Ceiling Granny
8. Midnight Flit
9. Pat Stains
10. Supposedly, We Were Nightmares
11. It's What I Want To Do, Mum