Every time you hear the word soundtrack you come to an understanding that the music is only here to accompany and enhance the images presented on the screen.
But have you ever pushed your minds to the belief that it could be otherwise? What if the images were here to support the music? If you had never thought about it that way, Mogwai’s latest album invites you to reconsider your preconceived ideas about original soundtrack.
Les Revenants (or Rebound) is a French TV show that follows a small community shaken to its foundations when out of nowhere, presumed dead people reappear.
The show takes on a new approach on the zombie flick since this time the dead come back but they are not here to eat your brains or turn you into evil monsters, they are just trying to reclaim their old lives.
Mogwai are no amateurs when it comes to the making of an original soundtrack having scored movies like Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait and The Fountain.
However this time, the band was hired to create a soundtrack before the filming had even started, which makes their creation even more impressive.
The songs are captivating, from the loud drum finale of ‘Hungry Faces’ to the oppressive piano riffs of ‘Jaguar’ and ‘This Messiah Needs Watching’.
The band plays with the power of melancholy, enabling your imagination to transport you into another world where life and death are not steady notions anymore.
The last two songs reflect the inexhaustible potential of a band always pushing the limits of their comfort zone.
Their inspiring version of Washington Phillips’ ‘What Are They Doing In Heaven Today’ brings a fragile hope to the icy atmosphere before being consumed by ‘Wizard Motor’, a transcendental and disturbing conclusion.
The chemistry is almost perfect, “almost” because I would like to think that nothing is perfect.
Mogwai take on challenges and every time manages to surprise us.
The band is a musical chameleon that changes colours to fit into its new environment, even if it faces an apocalyptic dream.
Words: Jeremy Veyret
