Review of Mr Beast Album by Mogwai

Mogwai
Mr Beast
Album Review

Mogwai Mr Beast Album

Following the rules….Mogwho? A Scottish post-rock five-piece with a penchant for the grandiose. Mogwhat? 'Mr. Beast', their long awaited fifth studio album. Mogwhen? Worked on during 2005/early2006. Mogwhere? At the bands new 'Castle of Doom' studio in Glasgow. Mogwai? "We consciously tried to have some louder music on this album, because we had begun to realise that there was a big difference between our live shows and our records, and there was no real reason for that." - Stuart Braithwaite (Guitar/Vocals)

Ok, rules out of the way, where does that leave us? Well, This is the Mr. Hyde to the Dr. Jekyll of 'Happy Music for Happy People', seeing the Glaswegian noise-merchants polish and fine tune their sound. Getting down to the roots of their music, dusting them off and getting down to business. The opening track 'Auto Rock' is a piano lead orgy of different elements, building, and building, but not really reaching a crescendo. Luckily for us that's what 'Glasgow Mega-Snake' is for. A powerhouse of layered guitars, screeching and screaming at one another asif in dispute about the direction the track should take, yet still managing to be surprisingly cohesive. This song reflects Mogwai's live presence better than anything else in their epic back catalogue, and truly does grab you from the minute it ascends into distorted guitar fuelled madness. 'I Chose Horses' sees a guest vocalist, Tetsuya Fukagawa, from Japanese band Envy. This collaboration brings depth to this album, asif shedding new light onto the Mogwai sound.

The album continues in classic Mogwai style, throwing their trademark elements into one big melting pot, pouring it all over themselves and writhing around in it until Mr. Beast was created. This is definitely these guys at their most accessible, but don't take that to mean that this album isn't an interesting album. Get into 'Mr. Beast' before he breaks free and comes to find you.

Thom Holmes


Site - http://www.mogwai.co.uk

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