Mogwai: If the Stars Had a Sound

I think it would be only fair to say that this is a somewhat scattershot documentary. Its bitty and fragmented, with little in the way of a narrative spine. This may be partly due to its genesis, where it was originally intended to be a film about the recording of Mogwai's tenth album and the associated series of small gigs in the Scottish Highlands intended to promote it. This all went to pot with the COVID pandemic but the band carried on and recorded the album which when released was in the unexpected territory of hitting the number one spot in the UK album charts. The doc sort of switches focus to this as the main drama of the film, and while its pretty impressive that an instrumental post-rock band that had been going for quarter of a century were hitting the top spot in the charts, its really only semi-interesting at best. So, the make-up of the film is essentially a sequence of Mogwai-related segments often pretty loosely connected, with a few famous and not-so-famous fans interspersed throughout with their thoughts on the band's music. I thought for a group whose music is so vivid, it might have been a good idea to have a more visual approach which could have accentuated the accompanying music but there wasn't a whole lot of that unfortunately. Funnily enough, the band themselves are almost conspicuous by their absence here, so there's little in the way of a look at their motivations or influences. What you are left with is a quite fragmented film which is more about an impression, rather than an overview. Amongst other things, there's very old clips (you know they're ancient, as Stuart has an impressive barnet!), there's a bit about the young football team they sponsored, clips from the Zidane movie, concert clips of varying quality and the rapper they were involved with in the chart battle driving around in a tank. The overall lack of urgency in the doc does mean that its pretty contemplative in nature, which does tap into the effect of much of the band's music. If you are a fan of the group, it does make for a good watch in a lo-fi sort of way.

Mogwai: If the Stars Had a Sound offers an intimate glimpse into the band's Glasgow roots, creative process, and some of the impact its music has made on its fans.

Director Antony Crook paints a picture of Mogwai through archival footage, interviews with collaborators, video confessionals from fans, and fly-on-the-wall footage of the band going about their (sometimes COVID-19-affected) daily lives. The film is bookended by scenes of the recording, production, and release of the band's 2021 album, As The Love Continues.

Clever use of (maybe?) a 360-degree camera enables the perspective to wander and explore the setting, before eventually settling on the subject, in a way that neatly fits with the atmospheric, instrumental music.

And the music really is the heart of this film. Mogwai's music is played in footage of gigantic live performances, quiet demo sessions, and studio tracks that make up most of the film's score. Songs are given room to breathe, and played almost in full. In Austin's ZACH Theater, it was loud and sounded incredible.

Rather than telling you their story, the band lets others do most of the talking. We see collaborators, producers, and musical contemporaries share their experiences with the band, their roles in some of the songs and albums, and the effects that the band has had on them.

I was particularly moved by a section that introduces producer Dave Fridmann and Tarbox Road Studios - the film takes the viewer through his incredible discography, sees footage and anecdotes from the band's Come On Die Young sessions with him, and then ties it back together as Fridmann produces As The Love Continues remotely from New York, while the band records in the UK during COVID-19.

Footage of Glasgow pops up throughout. Sometimes, lengthy establishing shots can feel like filler in a documentary, but in this case, these shots are almost always accompanied by dialogue or an important music cue - something that keeps things moving.

I hope that Mogwai: If the Stars Had a Sound provides a solid entry point for casual fans, and even something for non-fans to connect to and find compelling. But I think it will really resonate with hardcore fans who want new insights, unseen archival footage, and a chance to see this band playing the music they love, loud, and on a giant screen.

For the uninitiated, Mogwai are a Scottish instrumental rock band (also sometimes classified as post-rock) hailing from Glasgow, Scotland.

Their formation in the late 90s took the world by storm with their first official studio album called Mogwai Young Team. It was a sonic journey unlike any other and the band developed a serious group of dedicated followers with it. Since that album in 1997, they've gone on to create 9 more studio albums and 9 soundtracks for various film and TV series.

In 2021, the band released their 10th studio album (As The Love Continues) and had recorded it remotely in London while the producer for the album was several hours behind them in New York.

Like everything at the time, virtual was the new foundation and Mogwai were no different in trying to conquer a mountain when the world was in a state of upheaval due to COVID-19.

In a crazy aligning-of-the-stars moment, As The Love Continues was the #1 album in the UK the week of its release.

The #1 spot was highly welcomed by the fans of the band who've known for years that the group deserved it. And although the documentary was meant to tour us through the creation of the album and to the penultimate event of performing in their hometown in Glasgow for the first time in 2 years (in November 2021), it has become so much more than that.

The documentary informs us at the beginning that we are going on a journey. The destination may be where we think we're heading, but the road to it is certainly windy and requires patience.

Roping in producers and crew from the beginning of Mogwai's formation and through Mogwai Young Team and Come On Die Young (their 2nd studio album), the documentary paints the picture of how As The Love Continues was even possible to do remotely because of those cornerstones during the band's formative years.

The film takes us through the creation of several Mogwai songs as well, and not just from As The Love Continues. The beauty of this film lies in the heart of why the band keep doing what they do: for the music. For the fans. For the emotions that can only be expressed through their music. Terrible heartache, immense joy, pensive reflections, and shirt-shredding guitars. That's Mogwai.

Antony Crook and co. Have done not just a brilliant job of making a film about Glasgow's finest musicians, but also illuminating to the rest of the world just how the culture of Scotland, its rich history and unique outlook have shaped not only Mogwai's experiences, but our own through their music.

The film does show us how As The Love Continues was "made" and does a good job of sprinkling it throughout the film, reminding us that their #1 album wouldn't have been possible if not for the hard work during the decades prior to it. It can't be stated enough just how much the world that so desperately yearned for light at the end of the COVID tunnel hung onto it and helped to catapult it into something entirely different.

Funny, because this documentary has a similar vibe that when it started it perhaps was meant to be a linear journey, but along the path of life we all discover there are many nonlinear chapters that we are forced into (like COVID), and sometimes those paths have results that are catastrophic.

The stories from this film are not just those from the band, but from those who have helped guide the band over the years as well as many who have been influenced by their music, while sometimes illuminating those intersecting paths.

There's something in this film for everyone - those who have yet to discover Mogwai, those who have been a casual fan for a period of time, and those who have been hardcore fans for any period of time.

The film is worth checking out for anyone who has an immense appreciation of how powerful music can be without many (or any) words. It's worth the wait and even sweeter for those who have followed this amazing band for years.

Structured around the recording and release of their tenth album, this doc delves into the origins of the Scottish post rock titans, Mogwai. Does that sound too grand? Not to me. From simple humble beginnings that are still evident today, they've grown into a band that people and fellow musicians idolise. Largely instrumental, they emerged from a scene like no other band at that time and live archive footage shows here how they captured audiences from the get go. Although the recording of their As The Love Continues record in lockdown features heavily. It's live where Mogwai forged their reputation. Yes for being loud, but for creating an all encompassing mood. A mood that works well with the wealth of archive material here. It's a mix wide angle studio shots mixed with fuzzy 90s DV footage when everyone had more hair. The constant that flows throughout is emotion as we're pulled through voices from peers, producers, engineers, all of whom are friends. Through different studios over the years it's clear they've built a family around them. It's not straight up first this happened, then so and so met so and so sort of stuff, but there are nuggets of stories that help flesh out their evolution from 'My Father My King' being based on Avinu Malkeinu, to Ian Rankin explaining the duality of Mogwai stemming from what it is to be Scottish. They're a band that take pride in where they're from and give back more than they take. If The Stars Had a Sound, is about not only great music from a great band, but a celebration of what music and particularly live music can be. Special.

Their music will bring out the emotions brewing inside you.

Put on your noise canceling headphones and watch the world with their music as your soundtrack.

So take your allergy medicine because this will make your eyes water.

Mogwai and Sigor Ros are the Yin/Yang of my playlist.

You don't need lyrics to guide how you're suppose to feel. Their music will write the lyrics to your emotional journey.

I downloaded their albums from Napster (sorry Mentallica)

Buy Special Moves ... it comes with a dvd of their live show, just buy all their merch, but DON'T expose them to the sunl, and never get it wet, and never feed yourself after midnight while wearing their shirt.

• like Herod.