Search - Mogwai :: Kicking Dead Pig (Shm)

Burning like a log

Double A | NYC, USA | 03/13/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This review is for the second disc only, the Fear Satan remixes. Given that Mogwai bears no trace of humor in any of their original music, it is not surprising that this an extremely artsy bunch of remixes. All the tracks could be described as experimental. I don't know if I'd call any of this "groundbreaking!" or "highly conceptual!" but it's got some pretty interesting music. Most of these aren't really songs at all; they are more accurately described as "sound sculptures", little journeys through texture and mood. It's very rewarding for lovers of ambient music, calling to mind songs by Fripp & Eno and Seefeel. However, in spite of all pretension, there's enough rocking on here to keep it from being awful.



Mogwai remix:

The most striking thing about this remix is its reductiveness. It relies heavily on long sustains of notes and chords and looping samples from the original material. It is slower than the original, with lots of space between notes. The result is extremely ambient. Even when distorted guitar appears at the end of the song, it seems mellow within the context of the remix.



u-ziq remix:

This is the most aggresssive of the remixes. Like many other u-ziq tracks, it has jarring changes in tempo that keep it from being danceable. That's okay though, I only dance to Mogwai when I'm at a Mogwai show and am not afraid to look stupid. The really hyper tempo of the songs main section contrasts well with the two mixes that surround it, but overall it is my least favorite.



Surgeon remix:

Did I say the Mogwai remix used a lot of sustain? Um, the ENTIRE surgeon remix is pretty much just sustaining notes fading in and out, with very subtle effects gradually appearing and disappearing. It is very reminescent of an Autechre track named "Vietrmx21", which is almost entirely made up of just one chord progression repeating infinitely up and down a scale with a lot of reverb and sustain fading in and out. However, this is even simpler than that. A fun track for electronic fans, with a systematic approach to deconstructing a song using effects only.



Kevin Shields remix:

My Bloody Valentine fans, be warned: this does not sound like My Bloody Valentine. This one is the most epic of the remixes, spanning 16 minutes, almost twice as long as the original. I used to hate this remix because I thought there were so many cool parts at the beginning and end, but the middle had an almost unlistenable amount distortion on it; so much distortion that you can hardly hear any of the notes that are being played, it's all just the sound of speaker pop in and out. I can listen to it now, but the distortion still bothers me. However, one highlight is that Kevin Shields is really good at making throbbing percussion and bass lines by looping rock n roll breakbeats. Even though the loop of the percussion repeats ad nauseum without really changing at all, the break that Kevin picked is so good that it doesn't get boring. His remix for Yo La Tengo's "Autumn Sweater" shared the same quality. Also, this remix has a bunch of worthy atmospheric moments and sound textures. Overall, definitely worth listening to.



Gwai on, Wayne. Gwai on, Garth."

Spinning a Dead Pig

aarontsl | NYC | 07/02/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There is quite a bit of dead weight on the first cd, but the high points are very good. Klute's version of Summer is basically a breakbeat track, but one that is a credit to the genre. Kid Loco's remix of Tracy rocks like a live hiphop instrumental, but it's basically the orignal looped without words and with a pretty funky drum track laid over it. Max Tundra's take on Helicon 2 is worlds apart from the mellowed out original, starting off kind of a little too loud and scary before it goes sailing off into dreamland. The Hood remix of Like Herod is also damn cool. Most other mixes here are pretty good, but at least two get on my nerves so much that I've probably listened to them all the way through only twice since i bought this (about 1 and a half years ago). One thing missing here are vocals, which are already so rare in Mogwai's oeuvre. (I think we to hear the word "change" a few times, but that's it.) The second disc is so slow and pretty that I feel like a zombie in paradise, as if I were suspended in a numbed awe for the 60-or-so minutes of Mogwai Fears Satan, which means that I don't really like it that much, though i definitely "appreciate" it. All the mixes here are very ambitious, but none veer away from the slow-and-subtle structure of the original. It makes for good background music while stoned and watching silent movies (other movies work too) on mute."

Kicking mogwai

IRate | 03/14/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Well this is not a complete disaster, but taking any amazing bands material and playing with them will rarely even do justice to the originals, let alone emulate them..It is nice to see some of their older lo-fi material get a nice cover of sparkling sheen on top with the reinturpeted tracks..Unfortunately it is always the original brilliance of the writing, not the re-worked beat placements, that fans will appreciate.."