Rock Action - Mogwai
User Score
8.9 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 17 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17

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  1. jb
    Aug 19, 2001
    8
    Excellent. Had to listen twice in a row to allow the complexities to be absorbed.
  2. ErikO.
    May 18, 2002
    10
    great!!!
  3. JoeB
    Nov 13, 2002
    10
    Awesome from start to finish, and it even has Gruff in it!
  4. jeremyj.
    Jan 1, 2002
    10
    amazing stuff...gotta be fucking insane not like it
  5. DanielB.
    Jun 3, 2002
    10
    is perfect, just that. PERFECT!!!
  6. anarchistmilkman
    Jun 8, 2003
    7
    Doesn't reach the same highs as songs such as Ex-Cowboy, Helycon 1, Mogwai Fear Satan; but still pretty good. 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong is magnificent!
  7. Tubz
    Jan 23, 2005
    10
    Very Pure. Good Album Overall!
  8. boogiedaniels
    Nov 13, 2002
    9
    All is well in Mogwai-ville
  9. mg
    Nov 21, 2002
    5
    very uneven, and they shouldn't sing. sine wave is excellent.
  10. [Anonymous]
    Nov 26, 2002
    10
    King Midas touched this album.
  11. TheVillageDrunk
    May 17, 2011
    10
    This is a damn near perfect. Sine Wave opens the album with a wall of sound so powerful it nearly crushes you to death before Take Me Somewhere Nice soothes you with it's lush surge, while pondering spaceships over Glasgow. Dial: Revenge is a heartbreaking Gruff Rhys-lead tragedy of some kind. You Don't Know Jesus easily perfects the heavy build up then 2 right Make 1 Wrong glories in a cinematic soundscape that would put a smile on anyone's face.

    It ends with a Secret Pint, like a drunk friend falling through your front door before opening his heart to you.

    In all seriousness, there's barely a wasted note on Rock Action, Mogwai have tried & came close, but they've never bettered it.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
76 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 16
  3. Negative: 2 out of 16
  1. The Wire
    30
    A collection of slow, moody pieces whose unexceptional nature is made more frustrating by the occasional flashes of inspiration. [#206, p.77]
  2. Pitchfork
    80
    Granted, it's not mind-blowing, and it's not nearly as masterfully executed and affecting as their earliest work. But there are only a handful of bands out there that can put out an album as well-constructed as Rock Action and still expect people to bitch and moan about it.
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  3. Rolling Stone
    70
    Eschewing the sprawling, double-album ethos that marked the group's early entries into indie rock, Rock Action is also more concentrated and less elliptical
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