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 than previous releases, perhaps sharing more in common with 2001's Rock Action. Instrumentally the band have somewhat branched out, utilizing 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. 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