Rating: NNN
While the original title, Bag Of Agony, was funnier, the idea of Mogwai calling a record Happy Songs For Happy People still provokes a few laughs. There are no uplifting ditties here, and barely anything that most would even call a song. After venturing ever so briefly toward pop on their Rock Action disc, the Glasgow crew have stripped and refined their already ascetic post-punk down to the barest essentials. Songs like Ratts Of The Capital revive Mogwai’s familiar loud/soft dynamic, but the best tracks here just stick with the soft, sketching out delicate soundscapes built around strings, pianos and what sounds like a pipe organ. It’s hypnotic and often quite beautiful, but it’s also a bit of a dead end. Mogwai have been down this trail before, and they’ll have to rework things next time out. For now, though, this will do nicely.
