Watch Mogwai Explore Dirt-Track Racing in Cinematic New Video
Scottish post-rockers Mogwai explore the world of dirt-track racing in the new documentary-style video for “Crossing the Road Material.” The track appears on the band’s latest album, Every Country’s Sun, which arrived in September.
The Antony Crook-directed clip opens with a brief interview with one racer, Johnny Herchinger, who talks about how racing offers him an outlet to release his aggression after a long week. As the steady guitars of “Crossing the Road Material” rise, Herchinger and the other drivers at the Accord Speedway take off. The song’s stirring build and triumphant melody pair perfectly with the racing footage, which includes plenty of gorgeous slow-motion shots of cars drifting around turns.
Towards the end of the video, Herchinger hits a wall and his car flips over, causing him to go to the hospital. But in a voice over paired with the steady end of “Crossing the Road Material,” Herchinger brushes off the accident. “I think I did blackout for a second, and then actually I thought about my wife in the stands, wondering if I’m ok,” he says. “That’s the first thing that came to mind. Then, I said, ‘How’s the car? Can you flip it back over, can I go racing?’ And they said, ‘No, you’re going to the ambulance.'”