Mogwai attack the senses at Latitude 2014

Hexagons have never looked so formidable. They’re lined up in rows for Mogwai’s stage set-up; and they’ve been a permanent fixture of the 6Music Stage since the beginning of play. Once these Scots eventually land, they live up to the promise of being the loudest, most uncompromising band on the bill. But in turn, they deliver a set with the odd surprise.

Stuart Braithwaite and co. spend half their time building. Their songs equate to a gust of wind, one that sweeps the conscience up without a moment’s notice, leaves it hanging in limbo for an eternity, before sending it pummelling back down to earth. It’s when they enter with a bang, however, that things turn up a notch.

Their new record might have been handed the tongue-in-cheek title ‘Rave Tapes’, but it’s the songs on ‘Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will’ that bring out the foreboding strobes. ‘Mexican Grand Phix’ is like an attack, never quitting in raising the pulse over and over again. It sticks to the gut, making an impact with jagged drums, harsh synth lines; everything analog and unforgiving.

It’s difficult to equate this experience to any of their albums. Songs link seamlessly, each one upping the anti in terms of intensity. By the end it’s like being sucked into a black hole, given an easy exit in the form of two more days on Henham Park. It’s difficult to imagine anything being topped in terms of an attack on the senses, though.