Review by Dave Anastasi

One of the things I love most about Mogwai is the journey. The departure, the exploration, the movement, and the glorious arrival are all represented within not only their songs, but also within each album collectively. This disciplined approach is why Young Team keeps popping up on my heavy rotation list.

Quite often, journeys take time. So, upon glancing at the track list of Mr. Beast, I was somewhat surprised to see that the album's longest song clocked in at just over five and a half minutes. I think that Mogwai has lost some of their patience. Instead of journeys, Mogwai has opted for shorter jaunts. Maybe they think that travel is too dangerous these days (they seem to imply this in track four, Travel Is Dangerous).

This approach, as well as this album, has its ups and downs. Auto Rock opens the album with a nice piano motif that calls to mind Leaving Hope by Nine Inch Nails. The piece quickly feeds off of the theme and reaches its pinnacle in less than three minutes, maintains its intensity for one minute, and then it more or less stops-- not exactly the recipe for success Mogwai adopted in previous efforts.

Glasgow Mega-Snake is Mogwai at their heaviest, complete with the kind of guitar sounds that could rip a hole in your couch. It must be fantastic to see them perform this one live. Acid Food is truly a breath of fresh air after its cloudy predecessor. Stuart's deep vocals act as the perfect complementary contrast to the tinkling glockenspiel and heavenly pedal steel.

Friend Of The Night is a emotive piano-driven instrumental that shines as one of the album's highlights. It's big, lush, and beautiful, and "feels" most like Mogwai's previous album, Happy Songs For Happy People. I can't help but wonder though, if this piece, along with a few others, could have benefitted from more time and space to develop.

I Chose Horses is a spacey lament with Tetsuya Fukagawa contributing some unintelligible spoken-word goodness. Its warmth and resolve fools the listener into thinking the album is over. But, we don't get off that easy. The monster rears its ugly head in We're No Here, a dense assault filled with deliberate throbbing drums and wailing guitars. Dark, yet triumphant, it reminds us that Mogwai called this album Mr. Beast, and not, well... Happy Songs For Happy People.

Overall, Mr. Beast is a very good album. In it, Mogwai has created music as intense, as loud, as soft, and as beautiful as anything else in their impressive catalog. But sometimes, the best route from point A to point B isn't the quickest one.