Just when you were ready to dismiss Mogwai as just good background music sure to induce sleep soon after a few songs, the group comes roaring back with Mr. Beast — a new release featuring loud pianos, even louder drums and heavy guitars in the vein of its first album, Young Team. Do not worry though; the epic feel and seeming simplicity to their songs are not lost, just shortened and more condensed.
Fans looking for the prolonged tracks of Come On Die Young or Young Team will be somewhat disappointed. With the longest track on the album clocking in at just less than six minutes, the epic 10- or 15-minute ramblings so frequent on Mogwai’s earlier albums are replaced with songs half as long but still packing the same punch in terms of grandeur and beauty.
One of Mogwai’s greatest abilities has always been to produce cathartic and beautiful music all with the minimal use of vocals. Besides the intelligible mumblings on “Acid Food” and “Travel is Dangerous,” and the speaking of Tetsuya Fukagawa of Japanese hardcore band Envy on “I Chose Horses,” vocals are nowhere to be found.
Never before have pianos been used so candidly on a Mogwai album; and on Mr. Beast, the effect they have is a good one. With the opener “Auto Rock” featuring swirling pianos over a pounding drum that builds and builds until it feels like it is about to burst, and the poignant “I Chose Horses,” once you hear what Mogwai can do with pianos and keyboards, the repeat button on your CD player will not get much rest. A possible problem with Mr. Beast is some of the tracks could be seen as just filler songs or simple interludes between the heavier, more melodic and catchy tunes. Songs such as “Team Handed” and “Emergency Trap” may be prone to skipping by listeners eager to get to the more accessible “Friend of the Night” or “Folk Death 95.”
Like any Mogwai album, it is important to keep in mind the members of Mogwai try to get a specific feel to each record, and Mr. Beast is no different. At times having impossibly pretty pianos follow monstrously heavy guitars, Mr. Beast is a heavy listen, but an enjoyable one at that.
