Mogwai's sixth studio album is, as one might expect, a brooding and atmospheric collection, full of the band's exceptional use of dynamics and creation of hypnotic soundscapes. The Hawk Is Howling is, however, partly more reflective than previous releases, perhaps sharing more in common with 2001's Rock Action. 'The Hawk is Howling' is another fine addition to the Mogwai catalog. Like every Mogwai release, the music captures many different emotions and sentiments. The track sequencing is superb. (Listen to every track from the beginning to the end.) The album features both soft, meandering guitar pieces and loud, furious guitar pieces.
I love a bit of Mogwai. To some people it’s just noise, but I hear melodies that build and overlap, repeating themes and underlying rhythms that are often rather delicate. It feels to me that this is modern classical music, and that is a good thing.
Classed as Post-Rock, wiki has this to say: “Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and “guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures” not traditionally found in rock. Post-rock bands are often without vocals.” I like that bit in quotes. I also like that the titles seem like an afterthought, or perhaps a joke, maybe the joke is that they have a list of awkward or dumb titles and pick them at random, for instance, ‘I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead’, ‘Danphe and the Brain’, or maybe they do mean something. As I write this I’m listening to ‘The Sun Smells Too loud’, great title and an unexpectedly upbeat track.