Pop CD

Mogwai, Mr Beast

4 out of 5 4
Mr Beast

There's only one thing you can expect when an album is recorded in a Glaswegian studio called Castle of Doom, and this epic eardrum-abusing soundclash of a record is it.

Mogwai are known and respected for turning everything up to 11 and then turning it up a bit more, but this, their fifth album, goes to show that loud doesn't have to mean scary, juvenile or painful. Here, in fact, the softer moments almost outweigh the heavy ones.

There are various nods to the most unlikely of influences: Glasgow Mega Snake is AC/DC gone prog-rock, and Acid Food is more like Captain Beefheart doing guest vocals on a jolly Lemon Jelly track. Delicate moments, such as the soothing keys on Emergency Trap, provide a scintillating counterpoint to the all-out sonic warfare of Folk Death 95.

It's all a lesson in taking the rough with the smooth, from the best teachers around.

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