Mogwai — Mr. Beast

I keep waiting for Mogwai to falter. It has to happen sometime, right? At some point, they've got to run out of places to take their unique brand of instrumental rock. Mogwai fans can rejoice, however, that this isn't the case on Mr. Beast. Songs like "Auto Rock" and "Acid Food" see the band taking a stab at total accessibility. This is a good and slightly less than good thing. Take "Glasgow Mega-Snake" for instance: where most Mogwai songs spend about two minutes building to the distorted, room-shaking guitar, this track goes right for the throat, bringing that sound less than a minute in. For a band who typically rely on building tension slowly and delicately, Mr. Beast is a significant departure. Still, it's a minor quibble. For the most part, Mogwai maintain their stature as indie kings of instrumental rock.

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