Hell - Ain't A Bad Place To Be

In celebration of three decades together, Mogwai have transformed a difficult period into a blazing post-rock extravaganza. The Bad Fire finds the "prog curious" Scots in fine form and taking unexpected inspiration from King Crimson, Jan Hammer and Pink Floyd. Bandleader Stuart Braithwaite admits it's never too late to discover The Dark Side Of The Moon.

- Jeremy Allen

It's been 30 years since Stuart Braithwaite, Dominic Aitchison and Martin Bulloch formed a band in Glasgow. In 1995, nobody could have had any inkling that a group playing mostly instrumental post-rock would make it to the top of the UK charts (with As The Love Continues in February 2021). Mogwai's success is as surprising as it is heartwarming, and proof that independently-minded artists can sometimes prosper by sticking to their musical principles.

Mogwai have had a good run from almost the beginning, charting from the off with 1997's Mogwai Young Team, while their homespun label Rock Action has proved durable, these days boasting an ever-expanding roster that includes Kathryn Joseph, Arab Strap and Bdrmm. So, how does Braithwaite feel about the fact that Mogwai are still here and seemingly going from strength to strength? "Oh, I'm definitely proud," he tells Prog from his home in Glasgow. "I'm proud that we're still making music, and I'm proud that people still want to hear the music we're making. I'm pretty chuffed about it." One imagines a No.1 album at the start of their career would have been downright dangerous, given their propensity for hedonism.

"It would have been, yeah," agrees Braithwaite. "I don't think we would have lasted too long after that, to be honest. It's probably quite good that it happened when we were well into our 40s." How did it feel to have the bestselling album in Britain, keeping pop artists like Dua Lipa and Ariana Grande at bay for a week, at least? "It was lovely. I think the kind of support and warmth we received around that time gave us a lot of confidence going into this record."

By this record, he means The Bad Fire, their remarkable 11th long player, which we'll get to in a second.