Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will (2011) [24 bit FLAC] vinyl

  Released: 2011
  Duration: 53:00
  Genre: Pop/Rock
  Style: Alternative, Experimental Rock
  Codec: FLAC
  Bit Rate: ~ 2,800 kbps
  Bits Per Sample: 24
  Sample Rate: 96,000 Hz

  01. White Noise
  02. Mexican Grand Prix
  03. Rano Pano
  04. Death Rays
  05. San Pedro
  06. Letters To The Metro
  07. George Square Thatcher Death Party
  08. How To Be A Werewolf
  09. Too Raging To Cheers
  10. You're Lionel Richie

  By the 2010s, post-rock had been around long enough that the styleΓÇÖs artists could look back to their roots. Mogwai does that on Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will, from the titleΓÇÖs bone-dry humor to the bandΓÇÖs reunion with Young Team producer Paul Savage. The musical DNA of Young Team -- and its definitive track ΓÇ£Like HerodΓÇ¥ in particular -- is everywhere on Hardcore Will Never Die, informing the doomy coda of ΓÇ£Too Raging to CheersΓÇ¥ as well as opening track ΓÇ£White NoiseΓÇ¥'s graceful melodic arcs, which lure the listener in rather than making a grand statement. Indeed, the album carries much of its emotional weight in its keyboard melodies, whether itΓÇÖs the subtle soar of ΓÇ£Death RaysΓÇ¥ or the more mournful tones of ΓÇ£Letters to the Metro.ΓÇ¥ Compared to the epic sprawl of The Hawk Is Howling, Hardcore Will Never Die feels simpler and more structured. The albumΓÇÖs rock songs, including ΓÇ£Mexican Grand PrixΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£San Pedro,ΓÇ¥ feel almost like a theme Mogwai returns to throughout the album, with driving motorik rhythms and precipitous riffing that get heads nodding vigorously, if not exactly banging. Mogwai tease listeners with tantalizing glimpses of their full power as the album progresses with ΓÇ£Rano PanoΓÇ¥'s shimmering majesty and ΓÇ£How to Be a WerewolfΓÇ¥'s epic solo, but they save Hardcore Will Never Die's definitive onslaught for last. ΓÇ£YouΓÇÖre Lionel RichieΓÇ¥ combines the driest wit with the heaviest rock -- a quintessential Mogwai move -- as it builds from quasi-classical guitar figures to a scorching climax. As impressive as this moment is, it underscores how much smaller and subtler this album is than what came before it. 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.