2012.06.06 Mogwai - Mr. Beast

Color: Black

Released: 2006, March 7 

Label: PIAS / Rock Action / Matador

I definitely associate this record with the brief period of time that I lived in Nashville, TN. This record was released during that time and I caught the band on the Nashville stop of their tour in support of the record. I also remember driving my co-workers at the time bat-shit crazy listening to all of the band’s previous output in anticipation for the record and show. A noticeable shift from previous records, Mogwai used Mr. Beast to prove that they could pack the same dynamics and wallop usually present in their longer compositions into tighter more controlled chaos. I latched immediately onto tracks like “Travel Is Dangerous” (a roller-coaster ride that eventually turn into a fucking tank), lead single “Friend Of The Night,” and the surging “Folk Death 95.” The band almost had a “hit” on their hands with the country-fried “Acid Food.” The cover art on this thing is creepy as fuck, but if I recall correctly, is one of the first times the band actively sought out the work of an artist they didn’t previously have a working relationship with. When you consider that we are talking about Mogwai, it should come as no surprise that convention is out the door - so the artwork is a fitting visual for an enigma such as this band.