Brilliant noise.
You never really know what to expect from a Mogwai album; in essence they retain a certain sound • epic, swirling, beautiful and moody, but from album to album they can crank things up and produce something heavy and intense or keep a more subtle and gentle tone. The band’s sixth full length, “The Hawk Is Howling” like all their best albums, delivers on the hype and shows both sides of the scale in the first two tracks alone. The opening track is lovely, starting gentle and quiet, it gradually builds to a swirling crescendo, but never overwhelms. ‘Batcat’ however, which immediately follows, blows you away immediately; heavy, insistent and throbbing with fuzzy distortion on the bass, it drowns you in noise and is brilliant.
There are so many tracks to lose yourself in: ‘Local Authority’ is lush and minimal with electric guitar softly riffing away in the background while the keys pick out a ringing, captivating tune, just beautiful; ‘The Sun Smells To Loud’ is melodic and has one simple yet catchy core riff but it’s also uplifting and full of depth, with layer upon layer of noise below the surface.; ‘Kings Meadow’ twinkles and shimmers like a summer breeze; ‘I Love You’ I’m Going To Blow Up Your School’ starts off dark and quiet, with an almost doom laden riff before moving off into complex guitar work and rhythms and finishing with a juicy, heavy, blast at the end.
This is a totally instrumental record • not really a surprise for fans but something that really allows you to lose yourself in the tracks, no distractions, just the music which is slightly melancholy in tone for the most part but full of lovely little touches and can also sometimes be very joyous and uplifting • sweet but chunky riffs, tunes that weave in and out, textures that build in layers to become something very intricate and intense and all the time those soaring waves. There are no bad tracks to be found here, this is without doubt one of the records of the year • wonderfully paced, moving, soaring and so addictive throughout that you want to listen again and again and again.