Mogwai today announce their forthcoming 11th studio album The Bad Fire, produced by John Congleton (St Vincent, Angel Olsen, John Grant) at Chem19 studios in Scotland. It is introduced by the new song “Lion Rumpus” today, alongside a video directed by long-time collaborator Antony Crook, director of the documentary Mogwai: If The Stars Had A Sound.
The album features recent single “God Gets You Back” and arrives ahead of a world tour taking place in 2025. The Bad Fire was recorded in Lanarkshire, with Grammy Award-winning producer John Congleton joining the band in the studio. A Scottish colloquialism for Hell, The Bad Fire draws inspiration from a series of tough personal moments that the band found themselves in following on from their chart-topping tenth album, 2021’s As The Love Continues.
The band continued to work through this, leading to the creation of The Bad Fire: a collection of songs that forego nostalgia and easy victories, once again finding Mogwai pushing forward with some of the most beautiful and explosive songs of their career.
Mogwai say: “After the high of putting out As The Love Continues, the following years were personally hard for us. We’ve dealt with a lot of loss and in Barry’s case a serious family illness with one of his daughters. Getting back together to write and record this record felt like a refuge and with John Congleton we feel that we’ve made something special. We often hear from people that our music has helped them get through hard times in their lives and for once I think it applies to us as well.”
The new track “Lion Rumpus” finds Mogwai at their coruscating and progressive best. Every note is laced with a sense of intention. The track is a spectacular burst of noise where robotic vocals blur into the walls of guitars that switch between a driving chord progression and flashes of virtuosity. At its core, “Lion Rumpus” hones in on Mogwai’s ability to create vast swells of emotion without ever pandering to their audience or playing it safe.
The accompanying video follows Glaswegian native Lawrence (Larry) Wilson who, after moving to New York, became a dog walker. This film takes us through the streets of downtown Manhattan with some of the dogs and people that he meets along the way. Watch BELOW:
The Bad Fire is a bold return from Mogwai, a record that retains Mogwai’s power whilst delving into fresh new territory for the band. 
Album Tracklist
God Gets You Back
Hi Chaos
What Kind of Mix is This?
Fanzine Made Of Flesh
Pale Vegan Hip Pain
If You Find This World Bad, You Should See Some Of The Others
18 Volcanoes
Hammer Room
Lion Rumpus
Fact Boy
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