MOGWAI + FOREST SWORDS – BRIGHTON DOME 20.2.26
Despite it becoming a vast umbrella term in today’s musical economy, post-rock remains to be one of my favourite styles of music and has been for over a decade at this point – the vastness of composition and the exciting, boundary-blurring experimentation keeps the sound of rock and its adjacent genres regenerative, from the early tags of Talk Talk, Tortoise, and Slint to modern-day cogs like Maruja, caroline, and Black Country, New Road infusing their own visions within the genre’s structure. For me, the staple sonic image of post-rock comprises big dynamic journeys, open-plain guitar arrangements and a lack of frontman ego; one only needs to look at the works of This Will Destroy You, Explosions in the Sky and Godspeed You! Black Emperor to understand the soundscape.
However, one vital musical outfit for me is the Glasgow born and bred Mogwai. Stemming from kernels of slowcore and noise rock through their early formations, the band have expanded into a cult figurehead for post-rock and underground instrumental rock music, with records like 1997’s ‘Mogwai Young Team’, 1999’s ‘Come On Die Young’ and 2001’s ‘Rock Action’ continuing to be regarded as pivotal albums of the scene. Since the release of their 2003 album ‘Happy Songs For Happy People’ (which features my introduction to the band via the song ‘Kids Will Be Skeletons’), Mogwai have mutated their originally sludgy and untailored sound to feature more eloquent synth, piano and electronica arrangements that only helped further develop their artistry and profile, with their 2021 ‘As The Love Continues’ record being their first to top the UK charts. With last year’s release of their 11th album, ‘The Bad Fire’, Mogwai welcomed us to their world tour, making another regular appearance at the Brighton Dome for a staggering Friday show!
When I last saw Mogwai tour their ‘Every Country’s Sun’ record in the November of 2018 (also at the Dome), I was gifted by two supports, both emanating rock-band sensibilities: Brighton-based Nick Hudson’s The Academy of Sun project, and the much-beloved The Twilight Sad… so, catching the name Forest Swords on the support billing for the tour immediately let my mind wander to the possibility of a similar musical presence. I was very much mistaken as DJ and composer Matthew Edward Barnes, aka Forest Swords, made his way up to a calmly-assembled set of decks, where he stood under minimal lighting before treating us to just 40 minutes of his world which predominantly comprises tracks from his 2023 ‘Bolted’ album. The music delivered to us from Barnes is almost unclassifiable, with the sounds of plunderphonics, sound collage, electronica and ambient sweeping across the Dome, bringing to mind the sounds of Oneohtrix Point Never, Tim Hecker or The Third Eye Foundation.
The opening piece features some fuzzed out, reverberated chords, evoking the memories of the early 2000s’ hauntology movement, before mutating into noise walls and urban dystopia as the smoke dances in the light of the projector. The next track plays around with some glitching vocal samples that become a mainstay of Barnes’ instrumental palate, with some future garage and nu-dubstep soundplay entering the atmosphere, while the tense and nihilistic synth arrangements on the third piece incorporates more glitch-oriented depictions.
The fourth out of six tracks in the set was a strong favourite for me thanks to its suspenseful clusters of Disney movie-esque strings and contortioning synth hits in the latter half. The projections against Barnes’ placement on the stage begins to introduce some colour as the bell chime-like vocal clips and melodic synth work on the penultimate track reminds me of a late-era Depeche Mode song. Arguably, this piece was possibly the most approachable song for the Mogwai fans in terms of its appearance. The closer played around with repetitive vocal loops and apocalyptic bass that saw a strong progression in dynamics and structure right up until the last synth passage.
Forest Swords:
Matthew Barnes – electronics, sampler, synthesizers
As I caught up with a friend who arrived mid-set, I could slowly see the Dome now filling up to the brim with Mogwai fans, of all age and gender, patiently awaiting their favourite Glaswegian post-rockers. Before they came on, my mate and I debated on what the setlist would look like, as Mogwai are famously known for mixing up their setlists almost every single night, with some fan favourites preferred over others…! Needless to say the fourteen songs they handpicked for the Brighton crowd did not disappoint in the slightest.
Kicking off with the opening track from ‘The Bad Fire’, ‘God Gets You Back’, which features some epic cycling synth lines between Barry Burns and long-time touring musician Alex Mackay, and polyrhythmic drums from Martin Bulloch. Despite not being a particular favourite track from the new record, it certainly makes for a great show opener, as does the following ‘Hi Chaos’ from the same album, which calls back to the earlier, sludgy days of their discography within a menacing 6/8 groove and kaleidoscopic guitar lines in the chorus. A super early gem from their compilation record ‘Ten Rapid’, ‘Ithica 27 Φ 9’ features a gorgeous opening guitar passage from de facto frontman and guitarist of Mogwai, Stuart Braithwaite before ascending into melancholic, yet euphoric textures between himself, Barry and guitarist/bassist Dominic Aitchison.
The third cut taken from ‘The Bad Fire’ for the set, ‘Pale Vegan Hip Pain’ incorporates sombre instrumentals underneath a ghostly synth choir, with the overall pace of the track feeling so weightless and blissful. ‘I Know You Are But What Am I?’, a fan favourite from ‘Happy Songs For Happy People’, followed suit with its instantly recognisable piano intro, not to mention some inventive usage of an E-bow on Dominic’s bass guitar in the last leg of the track! The penultimate track from ‘Ten Rapid’, as well as the closer from my last time seeing Mogwai at the Dome, ‘Helicon 1’ is Mogwai at their most impactful; as Stuart sits down to play bass, we are whisked away to a stellar build-up of guitar feedback and trilling delays against Stuart’s melodic bass notes – easily a top three Mogwai song for me!
The title track from the underrated 2017 ‘Every Country’s Sun’ album is a strong example of Mogwai capturing that distinctive feeling of longing and melancholia, tucked away in a simple yet powerful chord progression, before Stuart unleashes some guttural guitar performances, almost evoking the sound of grief-stricken screams. Following the huge crowd reactions of ‘Hunted By A Freak’, with its irregular meter shifts, vocoded vocals and rolling waves of distortion, we come to one of my personal favourite Mogwai songs in recent years, the second single from their 2021 UK album chart-dominating record ‘As The Love Continues’, ‘Ritchie Sacramento’ (a play on the dearly-beloved and much-missed Ryuichi Sakamoto). This track is Mogwai at their poppiest, with distinctive vocal performances from Stuart and Barry, creating a character of space rock for a dying friendship in the lyrics.
One of the liveliest cuts from ‘The Bad Fire’, ‘Fanzine Made Of Flesh’ hits us instantaneously with a thick and energetic opening before dancing arpeggiated synths run riot in the verses. We approach the closing two tracks of the main set, beginning with the closer from the ‘Mr. Beast’ record, ‘We’re No Here’, the Scottish dialect result of the phrase “We are not here”. This song has a dark and funereal progression, culminating in it being one of Mogwai’s heaviest songs, packed with an obliterative ending of crashing guitars and domineering bass tones. For me, the closing ‘Lion Rumpus’ is a classically warm and ecstatic Mogwai track, acting as a testament to their longevity, demonstrating their tenacity over thirty years of life-force.
They swiftly leave the stage to the sounds of encoring cries from the crowd, before promptly returning with messages of gratitude and love via two more tracks. Firstly is a once-in-a-blue-moon setlist deep cut for Mogwai these days, the song ‘May Nothing But Happiness Come Through Your Door’ the only track to be performed this night from their much beloved (and recently reissued) ‘Come On Die Young’ record. Prior to this tour, the lads hadn’t performed this song for eleven years, so this was such a treat; a post-rock staple for the late 90s, backed by warm organs and twinkling guitar textures that evolve into call and response dynamics towards its climax.
Finally, to cap the night off, and for the second Mogwai show in a row for me, Stuart and the boys leave us with ‘Mogwai Fear Satan’, an absolute behemoth of a track and the closing cut from their debut ‘Mogwai Young Team’ album from 1997. The song kicks off with Stuart cueing Martin in with a fuzzed out, delay-heavy guitar riff that completely enthralled me as a 16-year-old upon hearing it for the first time, before the whole band reaches skyrocketing heights in dynamics and melodic stature. The volume gradually plummets down to earth as Mogwai take great care and patience for the next few minutes, cycling around the E-C#m chord progression… before SCREEEECH! – a full tidal wave of distortion and feedback crashes towards us in a totally unmatchable crescendo to the song.
I immediately rose from my seat to give a standing ovation, before walking back down through the Dome, discussing my enjoyment with my mate as we headed home. For me, this was a true pilgrimage; the gift of witnessing one of my all-time favourite bands after a continuously solid trajectory for all this time, helping me reflect on the constant influence they have on me as an artist and guitarist. At the merch desk, I purchased a copy of their ‘If The Stars Had A Sound’ DVD, which I highly recommend watching; it perfectly captures the spirit of Mogwai and the spirit of underground rock bands in general. To all my fellow artists out there, the music you make is bigger than words and wider than pictures. In Mogwai we trust.
Mogwai:
Stuart Braithwaite – guitar, bass, vocals
Dominic Aitchison – bass, guitar, keyboards
Martin Bulloch – drums
Barry Burns – keyboards, synthesizer, guitar, bass, flute, vocals
Alex Mackay – guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion
Mogwai setlist:
‘God Gets You Back’ (from 2025 ‘The Bad Fire’ album)
‘Hi Chaos’ (from 2025 ‘The Bad Fire’ album)
‘Ithica 27 Φ 9’ (from 1997 ‘Ten Rapid’ compilation)
‘Pale Vegan Hip Pain’ (from 2025 ‘The Bad Fire’ album)
‘I Know You Are But What Am I?’ (from 2003 ‘Happy Songs For Happy People’ album)
‘Helicon 1’ (from 1997 ‘Ten Rapid’ compilation)
‘Every Country’s Sun’ (from 2017 ‘Every Country’s Sun’ album)
‘Hunted By A Freak’ (from 2003 ‘Happy Songs For Happy People’ album)
‘Ritchie Sacramento’ (from 2021 ‘As The Love Continues’ album)
‘Fanzine Made Of Flesh’ (from 2025 ‘The Bad Fire’ album)
‘We’re No Here’ (from 2006 ‘Mr. Beast’ album)
‘Lion Rumpus’ (from 2025 ‘The Bad Fire’ album)
(encore)
‘May Nothing But Happiness Come Through Your Door’ (from 1999 ‘Come On Die Young’ album)
‘Mogwai Fear Satan’ (from 1997 ‘Mogwai Young Team’ album)
