Albums to watch

The Bad Fire

Mogwai

The Bad Fire

Eleventh studio album from the Glaswegian post-rock band produced by John Congleton (Explosions in the Sky, St Vincent, The Killers)

ADM rating[?]

7.9

Label
Rock Action
UK Release date
24/01/2025
US Release date
24/01/2025
  1. 10.0 |   The Skinny

    As Mogwai embark on their fourth decade, eleventh album The Bad Fire proves this legendary group can still produce moving, intelligent and vital work
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  2. 9.0 |   Far Out

    This layered, intoxicating piece of music is one of the easiest albums you could ever get lost in, and it’s something you won’t want to emerge from
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  3. 9.0 |   Spill Magazine

    The band concentrates on quality rather than quantity, making sure that there isn’t a single loose or unnecessary element present in the music
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  4. 8.2 |   Spectrum Culture

    Mogwai may not be writing Happy Songs for Happy People, but in so thoroughly assimilating so many musical approaches, they’ve found a way to make massive, deranged lullabies that urge you to stay awake, ready to handle whatever life throws at you
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  5. 8.0 |   Under The Radar

    This record boasts real emotional nuance among the unbridled passion. And to retain the power to surprise and delight when entering its fourth decade is something few bands can claim
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  6. 8.0 |   The Quietus

    There’s some sense of reconciliation going on between their earthier 90s sound and the synthy, spacey and sometimes poppier material that’s inhabited their last few records
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  7. 8.0 |   Clash

    ‘The Bad Fire’ might not cure your January blues entirely but it’ll at least provide a glimmer of hope to get you through the bleakest of months. All in all, an utterly enthralling 11th studio effort from these avant rock stalwart
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  8. 8.0 |   All Music

    It might be a smaller-scale album than As the Love Continues, but The Bad Fire is the sound of a band that's still making vital music 30 years after they formed
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  9. 8.0 |   The Observer

    Conceived in troubled circumstances, the Glasgow band’s follow-up to their 2021 chart-topper As the Love Continues is compelling balm
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  10. 8.0 |   Kerrang!

    For years now, Mogwai have watched them from the post-rock mountaintop. On this evidence, it’s a hell of a view
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  11. 8.0 |   DIY

    Some of the most euphoric music they’ve made in a while
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  12. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    The Glasgow indie stalwarts found a new lease of life during the pandemic; for their first album since, the quiet of lockdown had been replaced by the roiling storm clouds of everyday life
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  13. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    While old-school fans may lament their softening, the Glasgow band swap rage for refuge as they face personal strife – and their 30th anniversary
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  14. 8.0 |   Uncut

    These 10 sheeting, luminous soundscapes lean into the band's considerable pop smarts as well as their soundtrack and post-rock mastery. Print edition only

  15. 8.0 |   Record Collector

    Even on a record of many detours, the closing three tracks are uniquely surprising. Print edition only

  16. 8.0 |   Mojo

    To call it a mature album would be to take away some of the perennially youthful spirit of Mogwai, but it certainly achieves a crafted, discerning grace. However hellish it may have been, a baptism in The Bad Fire has clearly proved to be a renewing experience. Print edition only

  17. 8.0 |   Beats Per Minute

    It’s likely to stake some real estate in plenty of rotations worldwide, for those hoping for a follow up to 2021’s As The Love Continues that delivers on the same level
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  18. 7.4 |   Pitchfork

    On their 11th album, the long-running post-rockers open up disarming, uplifting new dimensions to their sound without veering too far from familiar paths
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  19. 7.0 |   Rolling Stone

    The Scottish rock minimalists press down even harder for one of their most emotional albums
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  20. 7.0 |   PopMatters

    Despite moments of overfamiliarity and some flat vocal experiments, Mogwai’s 11th studio record captures a band still reinventing their signature sound
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  21. 6.6 |   Sputnik Music (staff)

    Although there are a handful of highlights, the group has settled into a comfort zone from which good tracks emerge effortlessly, but nothing outstanding
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  22. 6.5 |   Northern Transmissions

    A nostalgic record, using the past as a tether instead of a springboard to help them move forward
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