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3CD set released to mark the band's 20th anniversary.
The first two-thirds of Central Belters traces this evolution, from 1996's debut single "Summer" to 2014's "Teenage Exorcists," one of the band's poppiest and most vocal-driven song to date (indeed, the collection features notably more songs with vocals than the average Mogwai album). In between, the collection touches on highlights such as "New Paths to Helicon, Pt. 1," "Christmas Steps," and "Hunted by a Freak," one of the tracks that heralded the band's increasingly electronic output in the 2000s and 2010s. Central Belters includes some fine examples of this direction in "The Sun Smells Too Loud," "How to Be a Werewolf," and "Remurdered" and also reflects the band's ongoing passion for symphonic grandeur ("I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead") and metal ("Batcat"). The set's final third gathers B-sides, highlights from the band's soundtrack work, and other loose ends, although "D to E" is the collection's only previously unreleased track. Standouts include "Hungry Face" from the Les Revenants soundtrack, the Roky Erickson cameo on "The Devil Rides," and, of course, the perennial Mogwai concert finale "My Father My King," which the band transformed from a traditional Jewish folk song into a 20-minute epic. Overall, even if Central Belters doesn't include every definitive Mogwai song, it's still a comprehensive portrait that captures the nuances of their sound over the years.
Tracklist
1-1 Summer 4:28
1-2 New Paths To Helicon Part 1 5:58
1-3 CODY 6:35
1-4 Christmas Steps 10:39
1-5 I Know You Are But What Am I? 5:19
1-6 Hunted By A Freak 4:17
1-7 Stanley Kubrick 4:16
1-8 Take Me Somewhere Nice 6:59
1-9 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong 9:33
1-10 Mogwai Fear Satan 16:22
2-1 Auto Rock 4:20
2-2 Travel Is Dangerous 4:02
2-3 Friend Of The Night 5:30
2-4 We're No Here 5:38
2-5 I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead 6:45
2-6 The Sun Smells Too Loud 7:00
2-7 Batcat 5:24
2-8 Mexican Grand Prix 5:19
2-9 Rano Pano 5:15
2-10 How To Be A Werewolf 6:22
2-11 Wizard Motor 4:41
2-12 Remurdered 6:27
2-13 The Lord Is Out Of Control 4:23
2-14 Teenage Exorcists 3:33
3-1 Hugh Dallas 8:34
3-2 Half Time 6:51
3-3 Burn Girl Prom Queen 8:32
3-4 Devil Rides4:01
3-5 Hasenheide 3:29
3-6 Tell Everybody That I Love Them 4:41
3-7 Earth Division 6:02
3-8 Hungry Face 2:24
3-9 D To E 6:02
3-10 My Father My King 20:15