This week, my friends, I fell in love. Before my girlfriend starts to panic, I should point out it wasn't with a girl, but with five Scotsmen called Mogwai. Now that she's even more worried, I should explain that it's a purely platonic state of affairs.

It's just that, after four albums that have ranged from good to great, their latest, Mr Beast, can quite rightly be called one of the best rock albums to have been produced in years. Formed in Glasgow in 1995, Mogwai rapidly gained notoriety for their outspoken views (famously going so far as to print a range of t-shirts with anti-Blur slogans on) and some frighteningly intense shows.

But there is more to them than that. Over the course of their previous albums, Mogwai Young Team, Come On Die Young, Rock Action and Happy Songs For Happy People, they demonstrated a talent for searing post-rock along the lines of Godspeed You!

Black Emperor, epic soundscapes, lots of very heavy guitars and a cheeky sense of humour that undercuts their occasional moments of proggy pomposity.

While other bands from the mid-nineties have come and gone, Mogwai have quietly built themselves a dedicated fan base and have been an influence on many bands such as Sigur Rós, Explosions in the Sky and My Latest Novel.

The name, Mr Beast, suggests a brutal monster of an album, and it certainly delivers on that. Second track, Glasgow Mega-Snake, is all feral guitar savagery and punishing noise.

But there's a lot of melody here too, and it's the gentler tracks that most stand out. Acid Food, with its western guitars, always hovering on the edge of cheesiness is a highlight, as is the ebullient, piano-led, Friend of the Night. Best of all is Travel is Dangerous, which throws occasional singer Stuart Braithwaite's haunted vocals against a solid wall of screaming guitars and white noise.

Mogwai have always hovered around the mainstream, rather than being a huge commercial success and Mr Beast is unlikely to change that.

But give it time (and some big, big speakers) and you may well find this record as addictive as chocolate Hob Nobs. Out this week in the UK, I recommend, nae demand, that you all run out and get it as soon as possible. It is quite possible that listening to Mr Beast is what your ears where invented for.