Mogwai are turning 30 in style. The Glasgow post-rock heavyweights just announced a career-spanning compilation, ‘Happy Tears’, and to kick things off they’ve unleashed a pulverising new track, Underground, featuring none other than the legendary Iggy Pop. It’s streaming and available to download now.
A Stooges Kid Meets His Hero
This one’s personal. In his book Spaceships Over Glasgow: Mogwai, Mayhem and Misspent Youth, Stuart Braithwaite makes it clear that Iggy, both solo and with The Stooges, is a defining figure in his life:
“Hearing the Stooges had been a life-changing moment for me. Their self-titled album was pretty much my bible. It was druggy, dumb and completely primal. I’d never heard anything quite like it and even though that band had pretty much fallen apart by the time I was born, I grew to love the three Stooges albums as much as any music I’d heard. I had a VHS video of Iggy playing live and I watched it over and over. His performance was unlike anything or anyone I’d seen before. The spectacle was great but it was his voice and songs that really captured me.”
The feeling turns out to be mutual. Iggy says:
“I’ve always liked Mogwai. The opening of the track reminded me of the crushing modern loneliness. The sung vocal, which was arranged by Matt Sweeney, felt like it was made for someone who is pissed off and doesn’t mind saying so.”
Three Decades, One Very Big Collection
Just like their debut single Tuner back in 1996, ‘Happy Tears’ is coming out on the band’s own label, Rock Action Records, which is also celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Along with the new single, the collection pulls together highlights and rarities from across the Mogwai catalogue, including a previous digital-only single and a fresh reworking of New Paths to Helicon 1, now called Brand New Paths to Helicon 1. It features the Budapest Art Orchestra, orchestrated by Adam Wiltzie (A Winged Victory For The Sullen, Stars Of The Lid).
‘Happy Tears’ lands on 8 January in 2xLP and 4xLP versions, plus 2xCD and digital download. The 4xLP and 2xCD editions come loaded with 13 additional tracks: six previously unreleased, two remixes, two live tracks and three rarities.
The Story, In Their Own Words
There’s also a documentary. Mogwai have teamed up with creative studio Cup & Nuzzle (Transmissions: The Definitive Story Of Joy Division And New Order) for a feature-length audio doc, Happy Tears: The Story of Mogwai. It tells the band’s story in their own words for the first time. Narrated by Cup & Nuzzle founder and BBC 6 Music presenter Matt Everitt, it’s an oral history of three decades of inspiration, independence, music and friendship. It drops 8 January as a 2.5-hour audio file, and you can pre-order it now as part of the ‘Happy Tears’ deluxe bundle or as a standalone download.
“I never thought we’d be making 11 records, because hardly any bands I liked ever did. We’re doing it being weirdo Scottish instrumental misery mongers. Like, yeah, that’s pretty wild.”
– Stuart Braithwaite in Happy Tears: The Story of Mogwai
‘Happy Tears’ track listing
2xLP
- Yes! I Am A Long Way From Home
- I’m Jim Morrison I’m Dead
- Hunted By A Freak
- Take Me Somewhere Nice
- Boltfor
- CODY
- Brand New Paths to Helicon 1
- How To Be A Werewolf
- Auto Rock
- Remurdered
- Ritchie Sacramento
- Lion Rumpus
- Underground (feat. Iggy Pop)
4xLP & 2xCD additional tracks
- Angels vs Aliens
- Die 1 Dislike!
- Ether (with The KNDS Fairey Band – Live)
- The Sun Smells Too Loud (Holden remix)
- If Not Destroyed: True
- Full Blast Michael
- Hingmy Malmsteen
- Dracula Family
- Harry Patter
- Ritchie Sacramento (Other Two remix)
- Nick Drake
- Owl Mince
- Mogwai Fear Satan (Live)
Mogwai Hit the Road This November
Mogwai are heading out across Europe this November, wrapping up with two special hometown nights at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall. It follows a summer of festival dates and one-off shows around the world. Expect songs from across the whole discography, including their 11th studio album, ‘The Bad Fire’, which arrived last year to considerable critical acclaim. Produced by John Congleton (St Vincent, Angel Olsen, John Grant) at Chem19 studios in Blantyre, Scotland, it features the singles Lion Rumpus, God Gets You Back and Fanzine Made Of Flesh. Full details at mogwai.scot.
Mogwai – 2026 live dates
- 5 November – Le Forum, Liege, Belgium
- 6 November – Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg, Germany – sold out
- 8 November – Opera House, Copenhagen, Denmark
- 9 November – Theater des Westens, Berlin, Germany
- 10 November – TivoliVredenburg Grote Zaal, Utrecht, Netherlands
- 11 November – La Laiterie, Strasbourg, France – sold out
- 13 November – Bozar, Brussels, Belgium – sold out
- 20 November – Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Scotland
- 21 November – Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Scotland
About Rock Action Records
Rock Action started out as a way for Mogwai to release their own music, but like the band that birthed it, the label has kept growing and thriving. It’s now a home for a diverse range of artists while staying fiercely independent.
From day one, the label has run on an ethos that reflects its owners’ independent spirit and chimes with the DIY scene that has defined Glasgow through the eras and made it one of the most celebrated musical cities in the world. Rock Action has put out more than 150 records from local and international artists, and has backed notable Scottish independent acts including Arab Strap, The Twilight Sad, Kathryn Joseph, Cloth, Sacred Paws, Errors and Remember Remember.
The label is marking its 30th anniversary with a string of special events and limited edition merch releases, so keep an eye on their socials for more.
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