Live Review: Mogwai / Kathryn Joseph / Cloth – 02 Academy Brixton, London 20.02.25

Glasgow’s own Mogwai headlined Brixton Academy with ferocious musical insensitivity and some long guitar riffs. At the tail end of Britpop, the band quickly established itself as a cult favourite amongst starry-eyed fans. With a vast back catalogue of albums, they have been labelled as ‘post-rock’ because of their long instrumental tracks.

‘Mogwai ’ originally formed in the early 90’s, and realising their debut album in 1997. Back in 2002, the band went and sold out London’s Alexandra Palace. ‘Mogwai’ consists of Stuart Braithwaite on vocals and guitar, Barry Burns on Synthesizer and Vocals, Domonic Aitchison on Bass and Martin Bulloch on Drums. Earlier this year, Mogwai released their eleventh studio album, ‘The Bad Fire’, which in slang in Scotland means ‘hell’.

Tonight, fans were in for a treat with over 90 minutes of deafening synth-laden rock, with an audience mix of all ages!

The Night starts off with another Glaswegian band, ‘Cloth’, which consists of siblings Rachel Swindon on vox guitar and Paul Swinton on guitar, as well as a drummer. As soon as their set starts, the band have a power stage presence with their dream guitar riffs. To date, their shows have been praised for their hypnotic, dream-like atmosphere. The band was signed to Mogwai’s Rock Action label a few years back. Their third album, ‘Pink Silence’, will be released on the 25th of April this year. One standout song with Rachels’s catchy, soothing vocals is ‘Polaroid’. Their roots and dreamy sounds are all but inspiring, from childhood bedroom experimentation to taking their sounds to Glasgow’s illustrious Cgem19 Recording studio!

Next up was Scottish songwriter Kathryn Joseph, accompanied by her keyboard. Her style is more political-inspired, with the unfolding events of Palestine and her stories of an abusive childhood. Her assertive presence certainly made her appearance special.

After the interval, ‘Mogwai’ launched themselves with their truly immersive auditory experience with the newer song ‘God Gets You Back’, taken from their latest album, which also features lyrics from Barry Burns’s seven year old daughter. As the evening progresses, the smoke thickens from the loud visuals to match. The single Richie Sacramento is a verse and chorus singing extravaganza. A stand out for tonight was the ferocious ten-minute bass-ridden song ‘Mogwai Fear Satan’. Tonight, ‘Mogwai, with every song, they have built up momentum and delivered like a specular symphony orchestra with a force of strength to match.