ALBUM REVIEW: Møl, "Jord"

By: Daniel Jackson

Album Type:Full Length

Date Released:13/04/2018

Label:Holy Roar Records

the basic feel of the music is going to be very familiar, but it’s done so well, and with such conviction that virtually no one else, including the biggest names in the style, have the chops to match what Møl does here.

‘Jord’ CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Storm

2. Penumbra

3. Bruma

4. Vakuum

5. Lambda

6. Ligament

7. Virga

8. Jord

The Review:

I’ve always imagined it being rough, being a band involved in a niche subgenre on the decline after its initial peak. It must have been rough to have been an American-style death metal band in the late 90s. It probably would have been similarly challenging to have been symphonic black metal band in the mid 2000s. And it also seems like it would be difficult to be a post black metal/blackgaze band in 2018. This is all anecdotal on my part, but it feels like if you were to go onto social media and talk up a band using terms like blackgaze or post metal, or post black metal; you’re likely going to be met with some apprehension from friends or followers.

There’s a burnout that follows the gargantuan wave and eventual collapse of a hot new subgenre, almost like at a certain point, there’s an unspoken moratorium on new bands in that style. But the truth is that none of that shit should matter. Good albums are good albums. And Møl’s debut full length, ‘Jord’, is a damn good album. Sure you can point to similarities the band shares with certain tentpole bands in the style, but you could also say that Møl is doing more with that style, and in a more compelling way than any other band occupying this space.

The hallmarks are all here: the soaring, effects-drenched leads, the rock-laced drumming choices intertwined with blast beat sections, and of course the harsh, higher-pitched shrieking. And yet Møl is putting these elements in their own unique context by infusing a northern European influence in their riff writing style you don’t run across often in this niche. “Vakuum”, as an example, features a main riff that feels like a Norse take on the rhythm-centric approach of Cobalt’s‘Gin’. There’s more of a melodic sensibility to it, but it captures a similar energy.

Even the stuff that fits into the genre’s longstanding tropes are performed better on “Jord” than on any album of a similar style in years. “Lambda” is steeped in the sort of airy, wistful clean guitar work that’s been one of the genre’s calling cards since day one. But thanks to some slick, fluid drumming choices from Ken Klejs, and the brilliant craftsmanship of the rest of the band, the song never feels like a lazy rehash of old ideas. Yes, the basic feel of the music is going to be very familiar, but it’s done so well, and with such conviction that virtually no one else, including the biggest names in the style, have the chops to match what Møl does here.

And that’s what the story of ‘Jord’ as a whole. It’s familiar, but brilliant in its own right. Gorgeous in the ways you’d expect, but brilliant in subtler ways you might not expect. Whatever the status of your burnout level is with shoegazy black metal: if you loved the style once, you owe it to yourself to give this album a committed listen. You might just remember what you enjoyed so much about this kind of music to begin with. I have. 

‘Jord’is available here

Band info: Facebook