Mogwai brought their first major headline tour since the pandemic to the south coast’s stunning Brighton Dome, and played their individual brand of deep and experimental arty Post-Rock to a room that was absolutely packed to the rafters.
But first up Ohio based 3RA1N1AC (Brainiac) hit the stage and delivered a thoroughly surprising set of quirky and off the wall Indie-Rock, which seemed to get further from the wall as the set progressed. The band were returning to the UK for the first time in over 25 years and seemed thankful to Mogwai for the opportunity to once again strut their stuff this side of the pond.
After a promising rise throughout the 90’s, Brainiac disbanded following the tragic passing of their lead singer Tim Taylor in a car accident. The three albums they released prior to 1997 were an influence to many in alternative music, with the likes of Nine Inch Nails’s Trent Reznor, Matt Bellamy of Muse and The Mars Volta all citing them as an inspiration.
Guitarist and original backing singer John Schmersal stepped up to lead vocals in this modern reincarnation of the band, ably abetted by Tim Krug who switched between guitar and keys throughout their performance, with the two trading lyrics over the top of their idiosyncratic Post-Grunge riffs. All of which went down well with the growing crowd, as they sounded something like a mix between Weezer, Primus, Melvins and The B-52’s.
When Mogwai hit the stage at 9pm the crowd had swelled to capacity and their was a sense of anticipation in the air for what the undisputed kings of Art-House Post-Rock were going to provide, as they hit the road for the first time in support of 2021’s No.1 UK album As The Love Continues.
Tracks from their latest record naturally featured with renditions of ‘Ritchie Sacramento’ and ‘Drive The Nail’ sitting among a set littered with classics from their vast catalogue, including ‘How To Be A Werewolf’ from 2011’s Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will. ‘Yes! I Am A Long Way From Home’ from their 1997 debut Mogwai Young Team. And ‘Remurdered’ from 2014’s Rave Tapes, which all sat beautifully within a set made up of other delectable cuts of ethereal melody mixed with brash distortion.
Mogwai provided a stunning lighting show which perfectly accompanied their soundtrack at all times, and had the crowd mesmerised from start to finish as the guitars of Stuart Braithwaite, Barry Burns and Dominic Aitchison worked their magic across the pulsating rhythms of drummer Martin Bulloch. The band built to the unquestionable highlight of their encore, as they provided the audaciously grand ‘My Father, My King’, a track sitting over 20 mins in length which they first released as an EP back in 2001.
It saw Mogwai finish in incredible fashion as the music journeyed from calm to distorted chaos, back to calm and finally into the controlled cacophony once again for an exquisite finalè, which finished with a sea of composed feedback as the five musicians left the stage to rapturous applause. KZ
Words by Abstrakt_Soul
kult-zilla.com 
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