Mogwai
My Father My King

THE REVIEW

In twenty minutes, the Mogwai bring to life, alter, and cause the decay of this only song on the album, establishing themselves as guarantors of their emotionally instrumental post-rock, characterized by climaxes and the alternation of calm and turmoil.

"My Father My King" originates from a melody of a Jewish prayer, adapted to the clear and distorted sounds of the Scottish group: from silence arises a peaceful guitar arpeggio, to which a second guitar and a muted drum attach themselves. Slowly the tone increases, ever more, and it's always the same melody climbing the unthinkable. The pathos increases until the second guitar bursts into flames, distorted, and everything becomes impetuous; a swollen river overwhelms us, and we find ourselves back at the starting point, with the usual distorted but narcotized arpeggio bringing calm. Quietly, we settle into silence, then comes a guitar interlude, aphrodisiac, starting quietly and finding itself facing another mountain to climb.

The whole thing repeats, similar but it repeats, and we find ourselves floundering in the usual swollen river; then rises the wall of sound, insurmountable; the track asserts its most intense moment: three notes that repeat, brick by brick, increasing the supporting structure until reaching degeneration. The climb becomes exhausting and persistent. Towards the end, it seems every instrument follows its path, blinded by fatigue and frustration. A suction marks the end: the needle gets stuck on a rusty iron disk, with minutes of disturbances and noises.

This penetrometer test of Mogwai is distinctive of their mainly instrumental genre, encapsulating their essence: a crescendo of impetuous emotions always ready to fall only to rise more vehemently than before.