#485 The Best Album of 2001, Round 1 Match #50: Destroyer vs. Mogwai
Hey folks!
Today’s Best Album of 2001 match is:
#62 Destroyer, STREETHAWK: A SEDUCTION
vs.
#67 Mogwai, ROCK ACTION
To vote, follow this link to the Google Form. You will need a Google login to vote. If you can’t or won’t have one, let me know ASAP (either through this newsletter, my email [kentmbeeson@hey.com] or on the Best Album Brackets Bluesky account) and I’ll see what I can do.
We have dueling Designated Cheerleaders today! First up, for STREETHAWK: A SEDUCTION, it’s @toddgotmon.bsky.social. Take it away, Todd!
I first learned of Dan Bejar via the first New Pornographers record in the winter of 2000. I drove my faded red 1987 Pontiac Sundance across the border to a Sam the Record Man in the St. Catherine's Mall to buy one of the most fun albums I had ever heard.
Mass Romantic was the song that made its way to my radio but what really gave that album staying power to me was "Jackie" and Bejar's unique delivery. When Electric Version came out and I heard "Testament to Youth In Verse" and "Ballad of a Comeback Kid" I decided it was time to start learning everything I could about how Dan Bejar came to join that "supergroup".
I think I picked up this cd in fall of 2003, maybe early 2004. It clearly was not the New Ps. I probably pretended to like this album more than I actually liked it until 2006 or so. But man, once it hit, it really hit.
Bejar shows a lot of growth over previous albums with this offering. Lyrically, Destroyer bounces between seemingly non-sensical and profound but always staying impactful. On some tunes he sounds like early career David Bowie covering mid-career David Bowie with restraint the Thin White Duke could only dream of (The Very Modern Dance). On another he comes off as if a carnival barker was excitedly sharing news he can't believe. There is just so much excitement in his voice, on tracks like 'Sublimate Hour' and he HAS to tell you how he feels.
Kind of the same way I have to tell you how I feel about this record. Its pretty awesome, all kinds of good weird. It disrupts the world's order just by virtue of its grace. Give it a listen, then several more as it makes it way to the finals.
Thank you, Todd!
Next up, for ROCK ACTION, it’s @sauril.bsky.social. Take it away, Mark!
Mogwai's third album proper - the somewhat ironically named Rock Action - followed 1999's Come On Die Young, which for the most part continued the sound of their debut. Rock Action takes steps into new instrumentation for the band with keyboards, synths, loops and strings adding to their legendarily ferocious guitars and monumental build ups.
It also has some of the most beautiful songs they have ever written, with “Take Me Somewhere Nice” probably being the most popular. Arpeggiated guitars, lush strings, and thoughtful percussion back Stuart Braithwaite as he sings of “Spaceships over Glasgow” (which became the title of his memoir) in a languid piece in 6/4 that doesn’t rush anywhere, taking almost a full 2 minutes to get to the vocals. The absolutely lovely “Dial:Revenge”, with its interweaving acoustic and electric guitars, background vocalizations and soaring strings, provides a backdrop for the lead vocals (in Welsh!) from Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys and includes an actual (mellow) guitar solo.
There are a few interstitial songs that have some interesting ideas as well, and of course a classic 8-minute build and release the band is known for (“You Don’t Know Jesus”), but the centerpiece of this record is “2 Rights Make 1 Wrong”, which starts with a simple repeated figure on guitar that continues through almost all of the song’s 9+ minutes. As it builds and builds, other instruments come in and fade out - finishing with glitchy percussion and a host of interesting instrumentation for an outro that ends with some wordless singing, perfectly ending the track.
Mogwai is one of my favourite bands of all time, and while this isn’t the album I go back to the most, it is certainly worth your time for a full listen. Moving away from the bombast into quieter, more thoughtfully produced songs gave us a cohesive album that deserves to be paid attention to.
Oh, and if you want the bombast back, give a listen to the companion EP My Father My King. 20 minutes of fury. It’s great.
Thank you, Mark!
Click here to see the current results for the entire tournament, and click here to see the current results for the prediction bracket contest.
Yesterday, #3 The White Stripes, WHITE BLOOD CELLS defeated #126 Squarepusher, GO PLASTIC, 160-55-3.
Thanks,
Kent
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