Mogwai - Mr Beast (PIAS) Reviewed By Steve Rudd

While this ten-track affair might not be as exhilarating as Mogwai's 'Come On Die Young' masterpiece of an album, this new long-player - which is the band's fifth - is still an epic and emotional joy to behold. With a running time of almost three quarters of an hour, their Auto Rock tune kicks affairs off, being a subtly enthralling piano melody, before Glasgow Mega-Snake livens affairs up with its far louder and rockier guitar assault. Mogwai have been around for ten years now, having formed in 1995, and this album has been recorded in their own Glasgow 'Castle of Doom' studio.

The album has also been co-produced by the band, with Tony Doogan having had his own part to play in the production.

For the most part with Mr Beast, the tracks tend to be slow-burning masterpieces that delicately unfold from humble beginnings into stunning soundscapes. Lyrics are thin on the ground, but ethereally whispered vocals do grace Acid Food amongst a few other numbers, while their I Chose Horses tune employs heartbreakingly tender atmospherics without equal. All the songs are cleverly multi-layered affairs, resplendent with enrapturing melodies that are presented in all manner of guises.

Mr Beast also features the single release Friend of The Night, which is a stunning tune that might in time come to be regarded as one of the band's all-time greatest cuts, ensuring that there is more than enough beauty in Mr Beast to silence even the harshest of critics. www.mogwai.co.uk

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