The band's influences include Fugazi, MC5, My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, Pixies, The Cure and post-rock pioneers Slint.[27] Mogwai's style has easily identifiable connections to genres like shoegazing, math rock, art rock and occasionally instrumental metal. Debut album Mogwai Young Team was described as "stunningly dynamic...[shifting] seamlessly from tranquil, bleakly beautiful soundscapes to brain scrambling white noise and sledgehammer riffing".[4]Douglas Wolk, writing for SPIN in 1999 said of the band: "Their compositions have gotten increasingly drawn-out and austere over time, sometimes barely more than a single arpeggiated chord or two evolving for ten minutes or more, whisperingly brutal in a way that recalls Slint more than any other band".[5] Barry Burns once stated in an interview that he and the rest of the band don't like the categorisation of post-rock because he believes it overanalyzes everything.[28]
Braithwaite has commented on the absence of lyrics in most of Mogwai's music, saying:
I think most people are not used to having no lyrics to focus on. Lyrics are a real comfort to some people. I guess they like to sing along and when they can't do that with us they can get a bit upset.