A steak at a restaurant without the enormous pool of melted, brown, nutty gravy; fries without salt sprinkled over them; pasta carbonara without guanciale (Italian pork jowl); pizza without Parmesan, pecorino or mozzarella (or any cheese at all); or boeuf bourguignon without a young, fresh Pinot Noir or a Bourgogne Rouge. Some dishes simply cannot do without that one crucial ingredient. Take it away, and you strip out the character. All depth disappears and the dish loses its soul. What remains is still food in name, perhaps, but no longer in experience. Remove the parsley sauce from Stegt flæsk med persillesovs and all the freshness of the fried pork belly with potatoes vanishes completely.
On the earlier full-length albums Jord (2018) and Diorama (2021), we came to know the Aarhus (Denmark)-based MØL as a wonderfully idiosyncratic, capricious blackgaze band. On both records, heavy riffs, biting blast beats, and rousing tempo accelerations were combined with dreamy shoegaze melodies and atmospheric soundscapes. The harrowing, desperate screams of vocalist Kim Song Sternkopf added an intense, icy emotional charge. Both albums proved to be works in which intensity and elegance embraced and formed a raw yet beautiful union.
However, on the new album Dreamcrush the musical course has been (significantly) altered. This time, the band opts for a more straightforward approach. The entire album seems to revolve around atmosphere. There is less emphasis on a more complex, unpredictable approach. You might even say that the songs are somewhat simpler and more accessible in structure, allowing the listener to connect with the atmosphere even more easily. Because that is what Dreamcrush is about: impact and emotion. It is about experiencing and feeling, and perhaps somewhat less about the songs themselves. Whereas in the past the band played more with dynamics through numerous tempo changes, this time MØL employs a more fixed formula. Verses sound pure and polished, while choruses are pushed harder and sound rawer. The band could previously appear unpredictable and whimsical, but that aspect has largely receded into the background on Dreamcrush, although it has not been entirely taken from us, as heard at the end of Favour and in the second part of Mimic. Instead, the quintet consistently chooses a largely fixed musical approach.
It therefore comes as no surprise that the guitar work, drums, and vocals on Dreamcrush are given a somewhat different execution. Blast beats seem almost entirely banished, the frenzied, tense drum parts have been scaled back, and Sternkopf’s deep, desperately intense shriek has been tempered. His vocals now balance between grim, dark intensity and harmonious passages, casting a hint of pop and alternative rock over tracks such as Dream, Små Forlis, Hud and Crush. The truly sharp, fiercely biting edges have also been smoothed from the guitars: the guitar work no longer constantly pushes itself to the forefront, yet remains strikingly layered and prominently present. Guitar lines range from acoustic to driving post-rock (Favour, A Former Blueprint, Dissonance), while the sharpness and ferocity of earlier days sound more measured. Even the faster, more intense tracks on the album, such as Young and Mimic, lack the dogged determination of older songs like Bruma and Photophobic. Although many of the rough edges have been polished away, it is precisely because of this that the album reveals another quality: a refined, emotionally charged layering in which every note and nuance seems to fall into place with careful control.
Has the band, with this different coloring, lost its own musical backbone? Is Dreamcrush an album that may still bear the name MØL but has lost its heart? Then you have truly underestimated the qualities of the Danish quintet. Approach the album with an open mind and different expectations (advise: immerse yourself in it with headphones on), and you will find that the deeper you dive, the more layers and subtle details come to light. Even with this altered approach, MØL still sounds entirely like itself, and the five-piece reveals itself to be sparkling and full of inspiration, character, and expressive power. It then becomes clear that Stegt flæsk med persillesovs with a full, brown gravy and apple compote – instead of the familiar creamy parsley sauce – can be just as infused with soul, boldness, and meaning. It may certainly not be an expected or self-evident combination, but those willing to surrender to it, who dare to challenge their taste buds, may well be rewarded with a surprisingly flavorful and convincing experience.
Score:
86/100
Label:
Nuclear Blast Records, 2026
Tracklisting:
- DREAM
- små forlis
- Young
- Hud
- Garland
- Favour
- A Former Blueprint
- ∞
- Dissonance
- Mimic
- CRUSH
Line-up:
- Ken Lund Klejs – Drums
- Holger Rumph Frost – Bass guitar
- Kim Song Sternkopf – Vocals
- Sigurd Kehlet – Guitar
- Nicolai Busse – Guitar
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