Track Listing

1. I'm Jim Morrison I'm Dead
2. Batcat
3. Daphne And The Brain
4. Local Authority
5. Sun Smells Too Loud
6. Kings Meadow
7. I Love You I'm Going To Blow Up Your School
8. Scotland's Shame
9. Thank You Space Expert
10. Precipice

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22670 in Music
• Released on: 2008-09-22
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
If at first, Mogwai's sixth album The Hawk Is Howling feels mostly remarkable for its song titles––what other quote-unquote 'experimental' band would christen their majestic soundscapes with names like "Daphne and the Brain", "The Sun Smells Too Loud", or "I Love You, I'm Going to Blow up Your School"?––repeated listens see this record find a neat place in the band's canon, somewhere between the sonic bliss of Happy Songs for Happy People and the intricate melancholia of Mr Beast. Solely instrumental, it's an album that follows the latter-day Mogwai template of gently undulating peaks and troughs, rather than mountains and precipices. Which might sound less than scintillating, but these days Mogwai are less about dynamite dynamics and more about intricate melodies and songs that slowly, but grandly, wind their way to conclusions. The opening "I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead" starts with a gentle minor-key keyboard piece by Barry Burns, but gradually builds in mass to a white-out of sparkling guitars. "The Sun Smells Too Loud" is a more synthetic-sounding piece doused in thick, fuzzy effects and yearning melodies. Meanwhile, "Batcat" proves the band can still flex a muscle, a squalling barnstormer with a Hassidic-tinged melody that recalls "My Father, My King". ––Louis Pattison

CD Description
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 thanprevious releases, perhaps sharing more in common with 2001's 'Rock Action'. Instrumentally the band have somewhat branched out, utilising light synthesizers on tracks such as 'The Sun Smells Too Loud'. For the first time since their debut'Mogwai Young Team' LP, Andy Miller was on production duties. Recorded in notable Glasgow studio Chem 19 (run by the Chemikal Underground record label), this release sees Mogwai simultaneously stepping forward musically and returning to their roots.

Customer Reviews

Who needs words?
Someone clearly a whole lot smarter than me once wrote that music, at its best, is "...a polite reminder of the limitations of language". A beautiful phrase, which stuck with me.

At their magnificent best, Mogwai have brought that polite (a less than apt word in the context of Mogwai's music, I grant you) reminder to mind many times since "Young Team" offered an exciting alternative to the dying embers of Britpop 11 years ago. That and every subsequent release have been studded with moments that have enough power and beauty to leave listeners awestruck.

What makes "The Hawk is Howling" Mogwai's most satisfying recording to-date is that over its 63 minutes or so, the feeling of awe it generates refuses to leave you. There are simply no tracks here destined for the skip button on future listens. The opening track, "I'm Jim Morrisson, I'm Dead", devastates with it's sheer momentum and from there on, through a number of fluctuating moods, the album takes you on a journey you'll want to repeat many, many times.

By the time the truly majestic wash of "Scotland's Shame", the eighth track here, was enveloping me, all thoughts of resistance were futile and Mogwai seemed like the only band who ever mattered. They aren't of course, in as much as nobody is, but it can certainly feel that way at times.

Others, i.e. Explosions in the Sky or Godspeed... have offered great work in the time since Slint's "Spiderland". However, Mogwai have always displayed a real understanding of how to get to the point economically and how to use melody to generate real emotion. These ten pieces synthesise all they have learned and that alone should be recommendation enough. I know I'll be revisiting this beautiful album for the rest of my life.

instrumentals with plenty to say
There has always been that worry with Mogwai that the limitations of an instrumental band playing only guitars might restrict their development or ability to find new things to 'say'. How many times can you do quiet-loud-quiet-loud-quiet? The odd vocal embellishment recently hasn't added much to the brew and their last album Mr Beast was a bit of a let down so I'm glad to report that their latest is far, far better. It plays to all their strengths whilst developing their sound.

It opens with the brilliantly titled 'I'm Jim Morrison I'm Dead' a classic builder beginning with piano and adding layer upon layer of guitar, the melody developing in complexity as the song progresses whilst retaining the insistence of the central theme like a piece of classical music. The first single 'Batcat' is five minutes of heavy power chords, perfect for those who like the darker end of the spectrum. It's followed by 'Daphne And The Brain', a surprisingly tender piece which has a very filmic quality to it. It's one of many tracks which makes use of synthesisers, a recent weapon in Mogwai's arsenal which they're using to better and better effect. 'Local Authority' and 'Kings Meadow' are similarly quiet, like film underscore. 'The Sun Smells Too Loud' is another track using keyboards to great effect and easily the most upbeat on the album. Seven minutes of bouncing, almost catchy music, who knew Mogwai could do pop? 'I Love You, I'm Going To Blow Up Your School' (winner of best title) is another seven minute opus but haunting in its slow build, describing a fragile emotional state with the explosive climax you might well expect from its title. There is an air of melancholy which hangs over the album as a whole, typified by tracks like 'Scotland's Shame' and 'Thank You Space Expert'. Some may not like the fact that tracks like these never really get above second gear but there is lots of texture there. Like Sigur Ros there is plenty of joy to be had in allowing yourself to enter their soundscapes and the album closes with 'Precipice' another great example of what Mogwai do well; insistent, compelling instrumental music with plenty to say.

What I think I can hear in a lot of Mogwai's music is a quality which makes it essentially Scottish. That may sound a little ridiculous, but there is something in the melodies and sometimes the drumming that retains the sound of Scottish folk music whilst of course sounding nothing like that. I mention it only because it's one of the things that makes their post-rock stand above a lot of the other output in the same genre. There's something genuine about Mogwai which makes them worth listening to.

Simply Sublime
I recently recieved a promo copy of this cd and I have to tell you its fantastic. The songs are slightly longer and darker than that of the 'mr beast' album (by no means a bad album, but to these ears, mogwais weakest to date).
This album manages to be both what you'd expect, yet at the same time still has teh ability to suprise:
Dark, haunting opener 'Im jim morrison, im dead' is built around teh time honoured build/repition theme with a maudlin piano thrown in, 'batcat' is scuzzy and dirgy while 'daphne and the brain' is short and full of brilliant electro flecks (that do indeed pepper parts of teh album to great affect)
the real stand out tracks for me though are the melancholic post rock of 'scotland's shame' which builds nicely, like an instrumental A PERFECT CIRLCE song I suppose, with good use of wah guitar towards the end for tension....and 'The sun smells too loud' which is now my fave mogwai song. it starts with a sequenced synth bass and electro percussion straight from the 80s and then just goes straight into the stratosphere!
It's bizarely up lifting/uptempo for mogwai, you can even dance to it! Its also got some lovely repeating guitar lines.
Go buy!!!!