Mogwai

I've made my ex-girlfriend cry a few times, but this is the first time I've been proud of it.

"Too beautiful," her e-mail reads. "I cried. Great music. Thank you." It's any rock hack's dream: reducing people to tears via recommended records.

The music is Mogwai, who use those ancient instruments called guitars, but just about everyone you play it to -- whether they're into hip-hop, house or drum 'n' bass - goes out and buys it.

1999's "Come on Die Young" was hailed as a modern classic and sat atop many album-of-the-year charts. New album "Rock Action" won't do that (it was always gonna be tough to eclipse so brilliant a past effort), but it's in the same vein.

Don't be fooled by the album titles, which suggest Mogwai makes fiendishly fast punk rock. This is punk rock only in the sense that it's new, fresh and passionate. The songs are slow, moody slices of guitar melodrama with few vocals, so it's best played at night when you want to chill.

Mogwai eschews the usual verse-bridge-chorus. These Scots deal in epic seamless soundscapes where timing is of the essence. It's almost as important when they don't make a noise as when they do. They understand how a big stretched-out guitar chord can be more potent if it follows a period of deafening silence. The effect is often devastating.

Go see them live next week, but remember there's no better place to listen to Mogwai than at home. A place where your dreams are unfettered and your tears flow freely.