Mogwai: Every Country’s Sun – time for Stuart Braithwaite & co to go full vocal

Reunited with producer Dave Fridmann for the first time since their 2001 album Rock Action, Every Country's Sun encapsulates everything the Glasgow four-piece have become since then, without giving much insight into where they're going. Melodic guitar workouts come courtesy of Crossing the Road Material and 20 Size, a nod to their soundtrack work via the stargazing Brain Sweeties and droning vintage synths of aka 47, electronic impulses doing battle with their rock tendencies on Don't Believe the Fife. As usual, the sound is flawless but it's all a little predictable: they've done the same, better, on previous releases. The outlier is Party in the Dark, an uptempo, Stuart Braithwaite-sung, dream-pop number, the band surprisingly at home within the confines of a verse-chorus-verse structure. Anyone else for a full vocal Mogwai album? mogwai.co.uk