Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will

While the album is far from rote, Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will certainly feels familiar; it may not be as immediately impressive as some Mogwai albums, but its back-to-basics approach makes it another fine addition to their body of work.

Characteristically, Mogwai surrender just enough melodic nuance to sustain superficial interest--without forfeiting the abstractions necessary to save the whole affair from sounding like Enya for art school kids. [Mar 2011, p.96]

So while Hardcore... is a shift of speed, downwards, it's only a gear change rather than a signal that the whole journey's coming to an end.

A couple of tracks feature liberally processed vocals, but the singing acts less as a melodic agent than as one more source of instrumental texture.

The thicker the walls of sound this time around, the better, too--the forward-marching layers of distortion throughout "Rano Piano" and at the end of the hyper-cinematic "You're Lionel Richie" are the most purposeful and satisfying aspects of the album.

For Mogwai, it works; the sound's grandiloquent and goddamnit, loud.

If Mogwai are looking for new routes to explore then Hardcore is a strong first venture.

It's a striking snapshot of a band on top of their ever-evolving game, with a fair amount of surprises thrown in for good measure.

Though generally a triumph, the album has a couple cuts that feel unsubstantiated.

This is an album that's far from complacent and what's most in evidence throughout is they're seeking to challenge themselves as much as their audience.

Whether this is a better record than previous Mogwai releases is hard to say categorically, but it is certainly bolder and braver than what came before it. Yet equally, it is the same trademark moves and subtleties that will make and just as rewarding of repeated listens as its predecessors. Mogwai have released another jumper, but not quite like we know it.

So it continues with Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will, an album with no missteps...because every trick that Mogwai has used in the past is present in almost comically balanced fashion.

As Hardcore closes, it beats its chest too, the subtleties of the album's earlier songs unfurled into those wonderful dramas of old. [12 Feb 2011, p.52]

For now, Mogwai is happy and ready to stay more firmly planted in the present and the physical. It's a beautiful album, sure, but most important, it's a fun one too.

You and I may die, but we can all rest easy in the knowledge that not only shall hardcore never die, but neither shall Mogwai. Long live the kings of post-rock noise.

By giving a wide berth to the safety of the post-rock label they've long despised, Mogwai have recorded some of their finest songs since "Mr Beast."

While their spacious, mostly instrumental music makes good use of dynamics (and reaches ear-bleeding volumes during live shows), they mark their label switch from Matador to Sub Pop with a lightness (as in absence of darkness, not bereft of weight) that's refreshing.

There aren't many surprises on Hardcore, but with jams this solid, surprises are unnecessary.

Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will--doesn't change the pattern Mogwai have set for themselves on recent, often middling, releases: There are some anthemic guitar blasts, some prettily drifting comedowns, and one or two vocal tracks.

Hardcore sounds defiantly re-energised, like a band starting over. [Mar 2011, p.112]

It's still apparent that Mogwai have, once again, produced a record of astonishing subtlety.

Every band should mature like the Mogwai lads: still inventive, still challenging themselves and still insanely loud.

Washed-out electronic textures, vocodered singing, and gentle piano envelop much of the album in a pastoral haze, and while Mogwai's signature guitar dynamics are both present and predictably melodramatic, they eschew the balls-out heavy-metal tantrums that Burning so capably highlighted.

Hardcore is mostly content to refine the band's epic, frequently breathtaking constructions.

The peaks and valleys have eroded into slightly more forgiving terrain on Hardcore, but they're still worth a trip.

The cumulative effect can be like listening to a church choir doing canons while simultaneously crushing OCs on your bicuspids, one at a bloody time.

Hardcore contains some of their most affecting tunes since the early singles, instrumental parts coiling around each other in graceful, liquid polyphony. [Mar 2011, p.97]