Mogwai's latest effort then, straight out the distortion clinic so it seems. It doesn't exactly start with a thump or a kick, it has no real meaning.. White Noise didn't give me a strong opinion about the opening. I thought the drumming was weak, but the guitar work was nice, as well as the strong build up.
'Mexican Grand Prix' is more of a Dance like driving song, with lyrics, unusual for a Mogwai track. This song has more of a meaning, it actually has decent vocal work and the synthed organ works, it stands out, but it works to drive the song forward, this with the fast paced beat keep this song intact.
'Rano Pano' is hard on the ears, a mass amount of instrumentation and a deep drum and bass riff make up the song. Lo-fi like synths are used towards the end, which give it more distortion, I liked this song, yeah, I liked this track the most. The drumming could have been heavier in places, but overall it had a great deal of distortion and energy which is what Mogwai is all about.
The tracks are classic Mogwai, they just don't have the same feel and structure as the Mogwai I know and love. I'm a big fan of Mogwai Young Team (Obviously..) as well as CODY and Mr Beast, I think the early career was great, brilliant Post-Rock tracks, crazily atmospheric tracks such as 'Helicon' and 'Mogwai Fear Sata0'n made me addicted to Mogwai for a long period. I often come back to them in glory, remembering how good MYT is, how magnetic Auto-Rock is from Mr Beast. This album doesn't give me that feel, The Hawk Is Howling was ok, it wasn't brilliant, but some songs were ok.
This album has more attention to distortion and Noise, it's evident in many tracks, with the bass often using distortion. The production is good, so is the instrumentation. But, like many albums I've been listening to recently, they just don't have that umph and structure to go the extra mile, to make me want to return with open arms, this is another dull album, it falls short from expectation, I was disappointed that the compositions were not as detailed as previous albums.
We do have great attention to detail on tracks like 'San Pedro', with guitars coming in from every direction which surprisingly comes together well. The new sound is a step forward from the Electronic based Hawk is Howling, it just doesn't keep me interested and keen, it's common now. I'd rather them not make another album, than make another dull, pointless effort with little passion and creativity, cause that's what this is.
We do have great attention to detail on tracks like 'San Pedro', with guitars coming in from every direction which surprisingly comes together well. The new sound is a step forward from the Electronic based Hawk is Howling, it just doesn't keep me interested and keen, it's common now. I'd rather them not make another album, than make another dull, pointless effort with little passion and creativity, cause that's what this is.
Some good tracks all round, nice instrumentation, good use of distortion, just disappointing on the final product. I wanted to hear better material, but it just isn't good enough for me. It's well produced and it does gel rather well. I think the drumming could have been recorded better with more effects, it doesn't sound raw or over effected, it has nothing to it rather than that slight faint bass drum which doesn't suit well with the textures. In some tracks I'd rather not have the drumming, like in 'Letter To The Metro'.
~Eddie
~Eddie
6.8
