Mogwai’s 1997 debut, Young Team, featured songs that alternated between long tranquil stretches and equally lengthy, face-melting, pummeling hard rock. It won them a lot of fans, but over the years, as they added minor electronic touches and adopted more conventional song structures, those fans begged for a return to their more dynamic early work. Unlike 2006’s Mr. Beast, which largely did away with their vaunted quiet/loud dynamic and stuck with a whole bunch of loud, The Hawk is Howling returns to that template, and longtime Mogwai fans will likely be pleased.
Mogwai’s music—almost entirely instrumental, save for a few exceptions on each album—can be described any number of ways. Dramatic, intense, and emotional all fit, but humorous and lighthearted don’t, which is why the title of opener “I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead” is so surprising. It suggests that maybe Mogwai is getting bored, that its music is so by-the-numbers that it needs ridiculous song titles to make an impression. Thankfully, that’s not the case. Building from minimal piano into a plodding rock pulse, “Jim Morrison” is one of their most dramatic songs in years. Unfortunately, it’s followed by first single “Batcat,” a too-thrashy tune that doesn’t quite work because it eschews Mogwai’s best skill—the art of restraint.
On the album’s second half, it finds its way again. With “I Love You, I’m Going to Blow Up Your School” (yes, that’s really the title), Mogwai treats us to some old-school rocking out. But unlike “Batcat” and the stuff on Mr. Beast, you’ve got to wait for it. At nearly seven minutes and with a bruising finale, it’s got the kind of power the band had supposedly lost. The other tracks on the second half follow suit, expertly shifting from quiet tranquility to devastatingly powerful rock. Though it gives us no real surprises, that dynamism is a good reminder that this band still has something left in the tank.
Voice’s Choices: “I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead,” “I Love You, I’m Going to Blow Up Your School,” “The Sun Smells Too Loud”
