''If the Stars Had a Sound'' is a 2024

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curric ...

film that focuses on the career of Scottish rock 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). Mogwa ...

, and was directed by Antony Crook. After showings at

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

in March 2024, and at various film festivals, it was released in UK and Ireland cinemas for a one-night showing on 19 November 2024, and will be released theatrically in the US to coincide with the band's tour there in 2025. The film was nominated for "Best Documentary Feature" at the 2024

Raindance Film Festival Raindance is an independent film festival and film school that operates in major cities including London, Los Angeles, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Budapest, Berlin, and Brussels. The festival was established in 1992 by Elliot Grove ...

. The title of the film is taken from part of a spoken sample that opens " Yes! I Am a Long Way from Home", the first track on the band's debut album.

Narrative

The film opens with footage filmed in the week of the release of the band's album ''

As the Love Continues ''As the Love Continues'' is the tenth studio album by Scottish post-rock band Mogwai, released on 19 February 2021 on Rock Action Records in the UK and Europe, and on Temporary Residence Limited in the US. Its UK release date marked the 25th ...

'' in 2021, and also shows the recording of the album with producer

Dave Fridmann David Lawrence Fridmann is an American record producer and musician. Career From 1990 onwards he co-produced most releases by Mercury Rev and The Flaming Lips. Other bands he has worked with include Weezer, Saxon Shore (band), Saxon Shore, Neon ...

acting remotely from the US during the COVID pandemic. It then moves back to the 1990s, showing archive footage of the band playing, and numerous interviews with notable people (Fridmann,

Alex Kapranos Alexander Paul Kapranos (born 20 March 1972) is a Scottish musician. He is the lead singer and lead guitarist of Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand. He has also been a part of the supergroups FFS and BNQT. Early life Alexander Paul Kapranos ...

Ian Rankin Sir Ian James Rankin (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer and philanthropist, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels. Early life Rankin was born in Cardenden, Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel ...

, Arthur Baker) talking about their evolution and influence. Baker recalls showing the band the Jewish hymn ''

Avinu Malkeinu Avinu Malkeinu (; "Our Father, Our King") is a Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They als ...

'' and suggesting they could use it, leading to the recording of "

My Father My King "My Father My King" is a song by Scottish post-rock band Mogwai, which was released as a single in October 2001. Over 20 minutes long, and billed as a companion piece to the album '' Rock Action'', a sticker on the cover of the single describes ...

" together with extended concert footage of the song. The film eventually switches back to 2021, and ''As the Love Continues'' reaching No.1 in the UK album charts, together with footage of the band receiving plaudits and appearing at the

Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...

awards. The last part of the film is given to numerous fans, both famous and regular, talking about what the band's music means to them.

Reception

Reception to the film was generally positive. The ''Indiependent'' said "It's not just a love letter to the fans and the band's long-enduring success, it's a love letter to every underground artist out there." whilst Jenny Nulf in the ''Austin Chronicle'' said "there's absolutely no vanity in the film... instead, it focuses on the connections made through their music." Phil Hoad in the ''Guardian'' remarked "while this film is sketchy on the details, it truly soars when capturing he bandlive". Rachel Kent from ''The Reviews Hub'', whilst saying that "Devoted fans will enjoy every fuzzy faded moment, and delight in the generous portions of music" also said that "as a documentary, however, the film falls short in many ways."

Home release

The film was released on 28 April 2025, as a standard DVD and also a "collector's edition" double disc Blu-ray which includes bonus material; the film trailer, an interview with the band and the whole of the band's show at Glasgow Tramway arts centre in 2021, during which they played the whole of their album ''

''.

References

{{Authority control 2024 films 2024 documentary films 2020s British films British rock music films Films about musical groups Concert films Rockumentaries Mogwai