studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by Scottish
post-rock
Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...
band
Mogwai
Mogwai () are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drums). Mogw ...
SPIN
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'', June 2001, retrieved 2010-04-17
Overview
''Rock Action'' brought with it some changes to Mogwai's sound that they would continue to develop later, including the use of electronic instruments. While song structures on this album are typical of the band in most cases and respects, some of the contrasting dynamics have been toned down slightly and many of the songs focus more on texture than on structure. For the first time, Mogwai utilised
synthesizers
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
, expanding their
timbral
In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voices and musical ...
palette. The tone of ''Rock Action'' is somewhat less dark than previous works, but maintains Mogwai's cryptic cynicism.
The single "Dial: Revenge" features
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
vocals from
Gruff Rhys
Gruffudd Maredudd Bowen Rhys (; born 18 July 1970) is a Welsh musician, composer, producer, filmmaker and author. He performs solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals, which obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He formed ...
of Super Furry Animals. Rhys has said of the song title: "I think (Mogwai) were into me writing in Welsh, because they're an instrumental band and they wanted a singer who would be just sounds for most people. Back then, people were still using payphones. When you take a payphone off the hook, on the LCD screen it flashes 'DIAL'. But in Welsh, dial – pronounced 'dee-al' – means revenge. It puts you in a weird place when you're making a phone call. So the song was about that."Pattison, Louis (2011) , '' Guardian (newspaper), Guardian'', February 2011, retrieved 2011-02-24 The song "2 "Rights Make 1 Wrong" was originally titled "Banjo".
The photographs that make up the artwork for the album were taken in a bar in Glasgow called Nice 'n' Sleazy. When the inside cover is unfolded, part of the logo for ''
Mwng
''Mwng'' (; English: ''Mane'') is the fourth studio album by Welsh rock band the Super Furry Animals, and the first by the group to have lyrics written entirely in the Welsh language. ''Mwng'' was released on 15 May 2000 on the band's own record l ...
'', an album by Super Furry Animals released the previous year, can be seen.
In 2009, ''Rock Action'' was awarded a gold certification from the
Independent Music Companies Association
The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA), originally the Independent Music Publishers and Labels Association, is a non-profit trade association established in 2000 to help European independent record labels represent their agenda a ...
, which indicated sales of at least 100,000 copies throughout Europe.
Barry Burns
Barry Burns is a Scottish musician best known for his work with post-rock band Mogwai.
Early life
Burns went to Cardinal Newman High School in Bellshill before enrolling with the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, taking ...
– guitar, keyboard, vocoder
* John Cummings – guitar, piano
;Additional musicians
*
David Pajo
David Pajo (born June 25, 1968) is an American alternative rock musician. He has played a wide variety of music, loosely fitting into several other genres such as hardcore punk, math rock, post-rock, electronica, folk rock and indie pop. Though ...
– backing vocals on "Take Me Somewhere Nice"
*
Gruff Rhys
Gruffudd Maredudd Bowen Rhys (; born 18 July 1970) is a Welsh musician, composer, producer, filmmaker and author. He performs solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals, which obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He formed ...
– vocals on "Dial: Revenge", backing vocals on "2 Rights Make 1 Wrong"
*
The Remote Viewer
''The Remote Viewer'' is an album by Coil. The three-track album was released in May 2002 in an edition of 500 copies. The album was later re-edited by Peter Christopherson and expanded to include a second CD of two new tracks. The second editi ...
– programming and banjo on "2 Rights Make 1 Wrong"
* Willie Campbell – backing vocals on "2 Rights Make 1 Wrong"
* Charlie Clark – backing vocals on "2 Rights Make 1 Wrong"
* Gary Lightbody – backing vocals on "2 Rights Make 1 Wrong"
* Michael Brawley – strings and horns on "Take Me Somewhere Nice" and "2 Rights Make 1 Wrong"
* Dave Fridmann – strings and horns on "Dial: Revenge" and "Secret Pint"
;Production
* Dave Fridmann –
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
Tony Doogan
Tony Doogan is a Scottish record producer who runs Castle of Doom Studios in Glasgow. He is perhaps best known for his work with Mogwai and Belle & Sebastian. He has also worked with numerous other artists, including Teenage Fanclub, the Delgados, ...
– recording
* Willie Deans – engineering (assistant, at CaVa Studios)
* Bill Racine – engineering (assistant, at Sorcerer Sound Studios)
* Vella Design – design, art
* Steve Gullick – photography