Mogwai - Barrowland Ballroom 18th May 2025

An evening that underscored precisely why Mogwai remain essential, relevant, and utterly compelling.

Sunday evening at Glasgow's iconic Barrowland Ballroom marked the triumphant return of post-rock legends Mogwai, wrapping up the second of two sold-out nights. These shows come as part of their world tour in support of their scorching new album, The Bad Fire (an old Scottish euphemism for hell).

Kicking off the evening was the sublime yet haunting Kathryn Joseph. Winner of the Scottish Album of the Year with her debut, bones you have thrown me and blood i have spilled, Joseph transformed her sparse, piano-driven melodies into lush, captivating soundscapes, each song dripping with intensity and a deep sense of melancholy. She was joined on-stage by long-time collaborator Lomond Campbell, whose electronic wizardry deftly reimagined Josephs intense intimacy into something both ethereal and gripping, laying a suitably atmospheric groundwork for the explosive headliners.

Previewing material from her forthcoming record WE WERE MADE PREY, Joseph exuded quiet intensity. She captivated the Barras with tracks such as DARK, DEER, and the mesmerizing remix of What Is Keeping You Alive Makes Me Want to Kill Them For. Campbell's electronics wove seamlessly around Joseph's raw, delicate voice, creating an atmosphere that felt both beautifully fragile and oddly menacing like a whisper that could cut you open.

When Mogwai took the stage, anticipation hung thick in the air, immediately shattered by the ferocious opening notes of God Gets You Back. From there, Stuart Braithwaite, Dominic Aitchison, Martin Bulloch, Barry Burns, with occasional collaborator Luke Sutherland proceeded to dismantle and rebuild their sonic world repeatedly, moving effortlessly between calm and chaos.

Tracks like Hi Chaos and Christmas Steps highlighted their trademark dynamic shifts - from whisper-quiet passages to vicious crescendos - each executed with surgical precision and relentless power. The rhythmic pulse and electronic urgency of Remurdered, from their 2014 release Rave Tapes, showcased the bands continued experimentation and willingness to push their musical boundaries.

Take Me Somewhere Nice offered a poignant moment of introspection amid the storm, its melodic fragility providing stark contrast to the surrounding sonic fury. Hunted by a Freak, with its eerie vocal loops and haunting atmospherics, turned the venue into a reverberant cavern of melancholy and tension, perfectly encapsulating the bands unique ability to balance beauty with menace.

How to be a Werewolf swirled into a fever pitch, each instrument layering until the climax felt inevitable yet unpredictable. The bands technical mastery and seamless chemistry created a hypnotic effect ' every peak more cathartic than the last.

But it was the encore, a blistering rendition of My Father, My King, that elevated the night from memorable to unforgettable. Mogwai unleashed a relentless tide of noise - an overwhelming cascade of distortion and feedback that resonated physically and emotionally. The sheer volume and intensity were staggering, an endurance test that left ears ringing and bodies buzzing long after the band left the stage.

Stepping out into the comparative quiet of Glasgows Gallowgate afterward felt almost surreal, a moment of sensory recalibration after the seismic experience inside. Mogwai's performance was not merely a homecoming but a reaffirmation of their formidable presence in the world of experimental music. It was visceral, haunting, and deeply impactful - an evening that underscored precisely why Mogwai remain essential, relevant, and utterly compelling.

Review by Fraser Doig.

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