on 2009-05-09 Trismus Said:

i can't speak to the quality of the album, as i haven't heard it yet. what i can tell you is that is easily one of the worst album covers i've ever seen. my god is that uncreative. it's not even a hawk, as the album title would seemingly lead one toward if they were looking to use a bird of prey as inspiration. it's a freaking eagle! way to mail it in Mogwai. i'm stealing your album just for that.
Not Rated

Review:

on 2009-05-08 muddyfish_uk Said:

Glaswegian post-rockers Mogwai have been around awhile (13 years to be exact), which for a post-rock outfit is something to be proud of. The genre is by definition, quite complex and bands can often fall victim to releasing what are in effect, variations of their older records. Mogwai however have proven time and again that they are capable of evolving and 'The Hawk is Howling' is testament to that.

On 'Mr. Beast' Mogwai returned to their roots and cranked the amps to eleven and piled the distortion on. They also included a number of vocal tracks on the record, which I've always considered to be their weakest attribute. Mogwai are capable of writing such beautiful instrumental pieces it always disappointed me when they layered vocals into their tracks or piled on the distortion. Needless to say, I wasn't a huge fan of 'Mr. Beast'

'The Hawk is Howling' only has one track which can be compared to their previous album and that is 'Batcat'. An incredibly brutal piece which will have you holding on for dear life. The rest of the album is reminiscent of 'Happy Songs for Happy People' in that the tracks are more subdued and inviting. Opening with the strangely named 'I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead' the album gets off to a good start. Gentle piano chords penetrate an undercurrent of feedback before a strummed electric guitar accompaniment lends the track some body. When the percussion eventually crashes into the mix along with some atmospherics to add texture, a second guitar line finds its way into the piece and leads the song into its crescendo where you'll be left gasping for air. This piece is an excellent way to start an album.

'The Sun Smells Too Loud' meanwhile is bouncy and joyous and succeeds in breaking up the intensity of the album. 'Kings Meadow' is full of layered guitar and spastic atmospherics, which reveals new parts on each listen. The sombre depressed quality surrounding the introduction to 'I love you, I'm going to blow up your school' is slightly misleading before the band's intention reveals itself amidst brushed drums and weaving guitar lines. Now, I have to be careful not to ruin this piece for you so I'll restrain from saying anything other than the ending to this song is somewhat different to its lulling start...

So many of these tracks are nocturnal sounding and much is to be gained from listening to this record in a dark room with only your thoughts for company. Mogwai have come good on this record and 'The Hawk is Howling' gives their fans much to mull over. Highly recommended.

Rating: 9/10

on 2009-02-10 kev_stev Said:

i just cant get into mogwai. im pretty disappointed by my failures as a post-rock fan :/
Not Rated

on 2009-02-10 dscanland Said:

Did anyone else feel that The Hawk Is Howling is one of the weaker Mogwai albums to date? I just couldn't get into this one.
Not Rated

Review:

on 2008-09-22 dadair Said:

Batcat single review:
Glasgow's favourite atmospheric indie/rock tilters, Mogwai grab this opportunity to thrust in your face the fact that they remain stoic to their churning, mood tossing roots. "Batcat" slots rotating percussion drills around echoing, fuzzy guitars and rolling bass-lines.

It shows a low-key relentlessness in its pursuit to keep their ragged rhythmic wheel trundling. Mogwai hasn't changed one bit and, would you really want them to? We need to be shown that there are more uses for the term fuzzy, than for Shaggy from Scooby Doo's facial appearance! Indeed. Here's the the full-length.
Rating: 6/10