Media

Mogwai: Dracula Family (Track Review)

2:28 p.m. · April 24, 2008 · by Jeff Klingman

I imagine a night around the dinner table in the actual Dracula household can get a bit testy, but Mogwai's instrumental lament for the undead clan is bright and serene. This unreleased track was recently included in a compilation from swell British music mag Plan B, and was presumably spawned in the same sessions that produced the band's impending as-of-yet untitled new EP. The track gathers intensity as it progresses, as many numbers by the Glaswegians do, but it never falls back on outbursts of rote guitar crunch. String scrapes come and go in the background, sure, but the chiming guitar lead never loses its optimistic stride. The late addition of  warm synth notes adds an even rosier glow. It's a nice spring song from the prototypical winter band.