Hawk Is Howling (due out Sept. 23rd) is the new studio album from Scottish instrumentalists Mogwai.Now with the exception of RATATAT and old Shadowy Men On a Shadowy Planet I'm not much for completely instrumental albums. I think it's my television generation attention span.
However, most of the tracks on Hawk Is Howling taken on their own are very entertaining and engaging. The standard rock band guitar, bass, drums are augmented with strings and effects to create instrumentals that really tell a story, without the aid of lyrics.
"I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead" starts as a pretty string arrangement, but builds to a cacophonous crescendo. "Batcat" is a bottom heavy rocker, while "Daphne & the Brain" and "Thank You Space Expert" are spacey jams. The band also provides it's fair share of dream pop numbers, such as the trippy "Local Authority". "The Sun Smells Too Loud" begins with an opening chords that seem lifted straight from Joy Division's "Transmission" before settling into a dance-rock lilt.
I'm still not going to make instrumental music a staple of my diet, I do have some additional respect for the genre thanks to Hawk Is Howling.
Best tracks: "Batcat", "I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead"
Mogwai play Metropolis in Montreal on Sept. 23rd and The Phoenix in Toronto on Sept. 24th.
Track listing for Hawk Is Howling:
- I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead
- Batcat
- Daphne & the Brain
- Local Authority
- The Sun Smells Too Loud
- King's Meadow
- I Love You, I'm Going To Blow
- Scotland's Shame
- Thank You Space Expert
- The Precipice
6.5
1 praise/complaints:
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Hi T.O. Snob,
On behalf of Wall of Sound / PIAS, Matador Records and Mogwai, many thanks for plugging “The Hawk is Howling” (release date 21st September) ... .. thanks also, on behalf of the artist and label, for not posting any pirate links to unreleased (studio) material and, if you / your readers want good quality, non-pirated, preview tracks, then full-length versions of “The Sun Smells Too Loud” and other, exclusive previews are available for fans and bloggers to post / host / share etc in the run-up to release at http://www.matadorrecords.com/mogwai/music.html ... .. do also check-out www.mogwai.co.uk and www.myspace.com/mogwai for news and info on the new album and the band’s 2008 shows.
Thanks again for your plug.
Regards,
WEB SHERIFF
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