As far as prolificity is concerned, few groups can top Mogwai. Their discography is a veritable black hole, including nine full length albums, six soundtracks, and a number of EPs and remixes.
Among that wealth of output, it’s widely considered that 2008’s Hawk is Howling is not exactly the best place to start. And yet, that’s exactly where I did.
Like what seems to be my habit with many, many other bands, I heard Mogwai’s name for years before I ever sought them out. But then one day, while my wife were I in Sweden, I was devouring bands like Deafheaven and Russian Circles and was overcome with a need for more music with that same epic heaviness.
Someone suggested Mogwai, and the steel-eyed eagle on the cover captured the exact kind of no-holds-barred aggression that I was looking for. And while this record might not exactly scratch that itch (except for the badass “Batcat“), it absolutely enthralled me.
This being Mogwai’s sixth record, it plays a bit like a demo reel of everything in their repertoire. You have patient, climactic melodies (“I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead,” “I Love You, I’m Going to Blow Up You’re School“), riffy, heavy-metal jams (the aforementioned “Batcat,” “The Precipice“), synthy, poppy anthems (“The Sun Smells Too Loud“), and noise experiments disguised as ballads (“Kings Meadow“).
If Mogwai has a fatal flaw, it’s that the consistency and frequency of their output sometimes keeps their records from feeling distinct from one another. The Hawk Is Howling might feel a lot like other Mogwai records, but it feels a bit more piano-driven than the rest of their work, which gives it a slightly more serious tone—despite the fact that all the song titles are completely ridiculous.
And while Hawk might seem a little inconsequential in the grander scheme of the Scots’ body of work, these tracks easily stand toe-to-toe against anything else in their discography. “I Love You” has all of the fury of Young Team tracks like “Like Herod” in slow motion. “Thank You Space Expert” is as dramatic and emotive a song as they’ve ever done, without ever giving into catharsis.
Admittedly, I haven’t spent as much time as I should have with the records between Young Team and Hawk. And as much as I feel like I should amend that, The Hawk Is Howling assures me that it is enough to satisfy me. It feels like a great encapsulation of every good thing from that period in one, single album.
And yes, I know that someday, I’m going to call myself an idiot for thinking that.