There's an irony in the fact this miscellany of scowling threnodies – the soundtrack to a French zombie drama series – should be testament to the Glasgow quintet's unbending impetus for scouting the hinterland of instrumental rock.
Yet it's this incongruity that brings the 14 tracks in from the margins and gives them sufficient blood, bone and sinew to stand on their own regardless of the visuals they are intended to accompany.
Forgoing the relative exuberance of their last studio album, here Mogwai plough a solemnly rapturous furrow, largely marrying minor-key piano signatures to steam-powered neo-prog rhythms and spasms of restrained lunacy, evidence of the group's giddying infatuation with sound as much as the elements of song.
Peppering the brew are shafts of pastoral divinity (Special N), echoes of bygone horror film scores – Fridge Magic in particular owes a debt to Fabio Frizzi – and an unorthodox outburst of harmony singing on the album's curveball What Are They Doing In Heaven Today?, while equally welcome is the enduring custom of inspired song titles, among them Eagle Tax, Wizard Motor and Hungry Face. Undead good.
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