Who? Mogwai / Explosions in the Sky
What’s the story? As a creative behemoth left this planet on Monday, it's good to be reminded that there are still other great artists out there pushing the musical envelope. It seems fitting that two big-hitters of the post-rock scene both unveiled new music this week: Scottish band Mogwai, who celebrated their 20th anniversary last year, and Texans Explosions in the Sky, who are relative newcomers, having been active since 1999. Mogwai's track is the sinister and majestic electronic effort U-235, taken from the forthcoming Atomic, an album composed of reworked versions of the music recorded for the soundtrack, created by the band to director Mark Cousin’s acclaimed documentary Atomic: Living In Dread and Promise. Meanwhile, Explosions unveil Disintegration Anxiety, the first track to be taken from their forthcoming seventh studio album The Wilderness, due in April. This one features some nicely distorted drums, some lovely Tool-esque bass playing and some icy musical interjections over the top. Naturally, there's not a single vocal in either of them. Listen to both, lose yourself for ten minutes and then look forward to both albums.
For fans of: Sigur Rós, Godspeed You! Black Emperor
In three words: Blissful post-rock
