Mogwai - Young Team

Another fantastic album has joined the ranks of the "reissues as a double album." Mogwai's first proper album, Young Team, was just reissued with a bonus disc of b-sides and rareties. Released on Jetset records, this album hit the states in 1997. At the time I worked at The Disc and was in the throws of my undergrad work. Outside of my classes, I completely submerged myself in music. My job and my friendships were all largely centered on music. Therefore I can't quite remember who turned me on to this record, but I do remember listening to it with my friend Graham a great deal. We played it in the store almost as often as we were playing Portishead-Dummy. Both frustrated customers because they were on small labels that were hard to keep in stock. We would never get more than one or two at a time and they would sell quickly.
Mogwai have become one of my favorite bands and I have loved most of what they have done since this record. In fact, they have matured and focused their sound continuously over the past ten years or so and have been quite successful for an instrumental rock band.
Young Team is a wild ride that you need to commit yourself to experiencing if you are going to truly appreciate it. The songs move in many directions and borrow structures from early Smashing Pumpkins, Swans, and Cure records. Despite the influences of these groups, they maintain what has become a distinct Scotland rock sound. There are sonic qualities to their work that I have only otherwise heard in fellow Scottish bands such as Aerogramme and Arab Strap. At times they plod along and slowly build to a theatrical climax. They can also do the opposite and catch you off guard by whipping the gentlest melody into a pounding sprawl of heavy drumming and feedback. I still can get lost in it.
I did not buy the new double disc version. I did however purchase the songs from the bonus disc off of emusic. Does that count?