With an album title like Mr. Beast, one would expect Mogwai’s fifth record to be filled with the most deafening, pulse-pounding and raw sounds ever to induce small earthquakes from one’s speakers — and in some ways, the record delivers.
Gripping, guitar-leadened tracks such as “Autorock” and “Glasgow Mega Snake” are reminiscent of soundtracks to blockbuster showdowns between the doomed villains and the supermen in tights. But Mogwai’s weakness lies in its quieter, entirely forgettable numbers like “Acid Food.” Fans come away with the vague question of how they could have zoned out for a good third of the album.
The song ordering doesn’t help anything either, wavering haphazardly between loud, throbbing rock and lethargically soft melodies. The album sounds strangely unbalanced somehow — this beast comes off as more bipolar than ferocious.
