Young Team

I had big expectations for this band as I know they're a huge player in the modern post-rock scene, and while this album isn't new it definitely didn't disappoint. Sonically I think they follow Slint's line of post-rock, but with a few Godspeed You elements too.

This is a very rocky variety of post-rock, it even borders on shoegaze, noise rock, and grunge in places. The music is given space to develop but they also go pretty hard into more mainstream rock with crunchy riffs and repetitive, predictable patterns. I actually like this style quite a lot, it doesn't feel too "out there" because it becomes grounded in reality frequently, but you still get the benefits of the more atmospheric and roomy sounds that gives space for your mind to wander.

They utilised a lot of incidental sounds on their instrumentation, like the sounds of strings hitting the feet and amplifier feedback, and I think this works well during the quieter segments to give it a colder and more mechanical feeling. Also I like the cover, this album does have a very urban/city feel to it, which I think is helped by the claustrophobic hard riffs that feature in most of the songs.

Should it be in the main list: Probably, you could make a strong case for it.

Top 3 songs: Yes! I Am A Long Way From Home, Like Herod, Mogwai Fear Satan

Mogwai are one of the great post-rock bands. This album is really solid throughout. They definitely deserve a place on the main list.

Yea I don't get this band and why they are critical darlings. Is it the dynamism?

Why did they decide to record the vocals in another room? I just really don't understand this modern Scottish music.....it just doesn't translate on this side of the pond....

Admittedly upon second playthrough it started to make a bit more sense.

Favorite songs: Mogwai Fear Satan, King Herod, Yes! I Am A Long Way From Home

Least favorite songs: With Portfolio

3/5

In 1999, I almost crashed my car when the loud bit of "Like Herod" kicked in. Such a major omission from the original list and still so startlingly brilliant.

Great stuff, falls along the ranks of “stuff I might have underrated before I learned to like Radiohead,” which tbf is basically post-rock in a nutshell

A wonderful album, with moving instrumentals and engaging lyrics (or sampled conversations) when they used them. Lovely to hear Aidan Moffat show up, and talking Scots. I never realised until I heard "R U Still in 2 It" that I hadn't heard the word 'pictures' (to mean movies / cinema) in a song. It's these wee moments that make an album, and remind me why I give Scottish bands bonus points. Except I can't in this case, cos they are already getting five stars!

Yes, more of this please.

“Cause music is bigger than words and wider than pictures.”


This was my submission, so it’s probably a bit obvious that I’m giving it five stars. If you can please listen to this album as it’s meant to be heard: loud as fuck.
Here is my reasoning behind why I submitted this album: I wanted my choice to be a Scottish band, and a band that didn’t have any albums on the original list. I chose Mogwai because I think post-rock is a little underrepresented on the original list. We had Sigur Rós, Tortoise, and Slint, but it feels like Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor are obvious omissions.


Young Team isn’t even my favorite Mogwai album; I would rank Come On Die Young and Happy Songs for Happy People above it. However, I think it’s their most important album, being their debut and their introduction to their quiet-loud dynamics and mesmerizing guitars. Hence, in my opinion it’s deserving of the list.

The standout song from this album for me is “Mogwai Fear Satan,” probably their most epic song. Also, “Like Herod” needs a special mention.
If you enjoyed this, please check out the rest of their music. Clearly, this is a biased view, but I don’t think they have a bad album.