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Hip Pop Stop Today's hip tunes. New music that isn't Classic Rock or Jazz! |
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Hip Pop Stop Today's hip tunes. New music that isn't Classic Rock or Jazz! |
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Ah, the sound of distorted, dissonant electric guitars. Mmmm. I've been listening to this album a lot again lately. The difference between it and their previous album Happy Songs For Happy People is striking. Happy Songs has the same basic sound and approach that Mogwai's always had, but compared to Mr. Beast, it's thoroughly lighter, more joyful, sometimes whimsical, sometimes even tender.The tone of Mr. Beast, however, is subdued in a resolute kind of way. Mr. Beast has no whimsy. What it has instead is power, lots and lots of power. Mogwai never previously captured this power in a recording. Fitting, then, that the last track is "We're No Here", to blow a hole in your speakers as the album's on it's way out. Or "Travel Is Dangerous", one of the few tracks with vocals, whose chorus arrives early and loudly. Though there still are a few quieter tracks, such as "Emergency Trap", with it's circular, pretty melody that ends much too soon. Throughout it all, the power is palpable.
Despite feeling so different, I think these two albums are Mogwai's best. Mr. Beast has excellent songwriting and denser arrangements, but Happy Songs has great songwriting as well, and isn't so severe. It's also less compressed. Different songs for different moods, I suppose.
If you haven't heard the album, Napster will stream it in it's entirety, and it will play fine over 56K. Just click on the link below, then on the Play button next to the album cover.
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Edits: 11/28/07
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Topic - Mogwai - Mr. Beast, with link to album stream - Todd B. 01:06:14 11/20/07 (2)
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