Mogwai – The Bombing of Pan Am 103 – Album Review
by Killian Laher

Mogwai are one of the most prolific bands around, and only four months after The Bad Fire, they are releasing their latest soundtrack to a TV series about the bombing of a plane over Lockerbie in Scotland.  It will be a surprise to nobody that this is a collection of moody instrumental pieces, excellently paced to create a foreboding atmosphere.

There are the slow and brooding ones like Calling All Units, Back Home To Giffnock and Reconstruction.  There are also pacier pieces like JFK, and No Survivors is a masterclass in tension building.  If you weren’t familiar with the subject matter, Luqa Airport and Closure are calm, almost tranquil.

For the noisier side of Mogwai, the guitars on Swiss Timers growl as opposed to chime.  A Little Piece of Scotland builds into a real epic and you could imagine this one featuring in their live sets.  The Frankfurt Cell and Indian Head are two of the most soaring pieces in their catalogue, but the collection ends with the funereal We Let You Down.

The pieces are all relatively brief, none of them outstaying their welcome, so it’s more about the collective, and you do sometimes get the impression Mogwai could knock them out in their sleep.  But anyone with even a passing interest in Mogwai will enjoy this collection.

JFK