Review Summary: Mr. Beast starts with a beautiful, sad, and uplifting intro which sets the mood for the rest of the album; it swells up and down and proves that, even without lyrics, good music can be very memorable.
Mogwai is the sort of style I have always wanted to emulate, even before discovering them. It was a fluke incident really, after hearing Mike Vennart of Oceansize list Mogwai as an influence, I decided to give them a try - after all, if Oceansize liked them, I probably would too. I browsed some albums, and decided to download Mr. Beast. I have to say, Mogwai fit my tastes very well, and I was pleasantly surprised.
Now, not having any other Mogwai albums to judge by, and not having listened to many post-rock bands, this provided me with a clean slate by which to judge both the band and the album. From the opening moments of Auto Rock, I was sent into euphoria. I am a big lover of well-composed piano songs in rock music (and by that I don't mean cheesy 80s arena rock). Auto Rock gave me an overall impression of the album right away. Serene, beautiful, sad, yet uplifting, powerful, and with a sense of worth. AS the song progressed, I didn't tire of the melody. I expected the buildup to lead right into track two, but I was just as pleased with a ghostly fade off.
From here, the rest of the album came along fantastically. Glasgow Mega-Snake (sounds like a bad porno name) was a instrumental beefy rocker, and Acid Food introduced a processed electronic beat, which worked out so well, showing some faint hints of Daft Punk in it. Then along came Travel is Dangerous, which took me by the neck and showed me what real rock is. To me, everything in this song is an unbelievable experience (I can only imagine the feeling if I were on psilocybin). The lyrics are hauntingly beautiful, and the melodies are epic and meaningful.
Follow Travel is Dangerous, there are no longer any vocals. The next few songs come along very smoothly, and still feel unique despite having similar styles. I can see where people would dislike Mogwai, for not having vocals to grasp to, but for me, it's no problem. As the album rides off into the nightly hours, running its course, some songs seem to fade out of memory. However, this is not die to them being sub-par, but simply due to the amazing first half of the album. I chose Horses is a unique foray, with Japanese whispers in the background of ambiance. Finally, the album leaves with a lasting impact, blasting out with We're No Here, which provides an epic buildup combining the power of Glasgow and the swells of Auto Rock.
Mr. Beast is an album that leaves a lasting impact for me, and gave me a pole to latch onto; a band which I had only recently discovered, yet emulates my musical taste so well. This album hooked me, and I will surely be buying more. As a first listen, this will not disappoint any looking to get into Mogwai (though I hear Young Team is by far their best release). The absence of lyrics makes the music better - most bands these days write for lyrics, and their instrumentation becomes utterly "lost and forgotten".
Recommended tracks:
-Glasgow Mega-Snake
-Acid Food
-Travel is Dangerous
-Friend of the Night
