Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

Picking a favorite band would be pretty impossible for me, like asking a parent which child is their favorite. Still, along with a few other choice bands, Mogwai would easily be near the top of my list.

I don't know how many other people around here are familiar with the post-rock genre, but these guys are easily one of the best and most well-known acts in the scene. Most of the songs are instrumental, guitar driven pieces that start with a simple, quiet theme that _layer_s and builds into a loud, powerful crescendo. They set themselves apart by using a more aggressive sound with prevalent percussion, heavy bass, and a lot of distortion.

They drift somewhere between the melancholy of bands like Explosions in the Sky and the noisy drone of Neurosis. Mr. Beast, their most recent album, is moody and powerful, and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes this kind of music, or shoegaze bands like My Bloody Valentine.