Your own ghost running away with the past

Continuing my trip up The Guardian's Top 50 Albums of 2021

#26 : As The Love Continues - Mogwai

In a feat of lockdown recording, Dave Fridmann produced Mogwai’s 10th studio album over Zoom and Atticus Ross directed an orchestra in Budapest via remote connection from Los Angeles. The classic Mogwai physicality remained undimmed by these virtual limitations, however, swerving between twinkling beauty (Dry Fantasy) and pleasingly barbed dirges (Ceiling Granny), and chucking in a new bag of glitter (Supposedly, We Were Nightmares) for good measure. Happily for all involved, it became their first UK No 1 album.

I was recently introduced to Mogwai (having subconsciously avoid them for many years) and enjoyed them, so was pleased to be made to listen to their latest.  And yeah, I liked this too - a nice expansive sound to it.  I did find "Midnight Flit" dragged on a bit though - which is strange because it's not the longest track on the album.  Personally, I prefer songs with lyrics and singing and stuff (and yes, I accept they do at least give me one of these - thank you "Ritchie Sacramento") but this is a lot better than plenty of stuff that does have words!

Wikipedia has a reasonable amount of the album, but it's pretty much all either about the intricacies of recording during lockdown (which includes the amusing phrase "going to England being amazing is not a sentence I thought I'd ever say in my life") or about how much people liked it (and they liked it a lot).  Well done to Mogwai on their first #1 - you'd have to say they've put in the hard yards over the years (they formed in 95).

"Customers also listened to" Arab Strap, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Four Tet and Floating Points - some interesting names if nothing else.  This album isn't something I'll be rushing back to, but if I find myself listening to it again, I won't be disappointed and I'm glad I no longer feel the need to avoid them.

#25 : Sound Ancestors - Madlib

A relatively austere and serious release from the collagist hip-hop beatmaker, letting his fabled samples really stretch out and inhabit the songs instead of chopping between them – a result of Kieren “Four Tet” Hebden arranging the album. There’s still room for Madlib’s trickster energy though, as found in a chaotic blurt of mayhem-inducing rap duo MOP. The title track is spiritual jazz, but that genre’s mood pervades the entire album, as Madlib communes with more than half a century of sound

I recognised the name, but wasn't entirely sure where from - I had to search the archives to find this.  The man's been around a bit, so he is indeed gonna have to some sound ancestors - but I've got no idea what he's going to do with them.  And having listened to it, I'm still not entirely sure - it feels all very polished and infused with meaning, but the meaning completely passed me by I'm afraid.  I'm not entirely sure what spiritual jazz it, although I can quite imagine this is it - it was an interesting enough listen, but not one I'll be revisiting.

Wikipedia has a bit on the album, most of which is telling me "you just don't get it, man" - which I'm completely prepared to believe.  I mean, apparently the related genre is "boom bap" which I've never even heard of.  The critics LOVED it - commercially it didn't exactly storm the charts reaching #42 in the UK and #153 in the US, but I think Madlib would agree it's not exactly a mainstream commercial release.

"Customers also listened to" Your Old Droog, Abstract Mindstate and Damu The Fudgemunk - who wouldn't be tempted to check any of them out?  There are a lot of interesting sounds and, you suspect, sonic ancestry on this album but I'm afraid it really just left me feeling I didn't understand what I was listening to.

#28/27 - An album I've actually already listened to!
#24/23 - Artists ranging in age from 19 to 81