Etazhi＜限定盤＞

Molchat Domas second album, Etazhi, appeared a year after their debut, and while it maintains a similarly bleak tone and a sound derived from 1980s post-punk and cold wave, its easily a step up in terms of both songwriting and production, sounding significantly cleaner and having far more memorable hooks. The synth melodies are more prominent, while the guitars take on a nearly surf-like tone on some songs, and the rhythms are more danceable. The upbeat Tancevat seems to be about the escapism of a dance party, even if dancing in the company of other people feels awkward, while Filmy edges closer to the funk-influenced side of new wave. The lyrics are a bit deeper than the bands debut, continuing to describe loneliness, oppression, and life under communist rule, but some of these songs are more related to personal feelings. Filmy is about facing a harsh reality thats dramatic enough to be a movie, causing disbelief in love, and Toska finds relief in the end of a toxic relationship. The buzzy, winding synth melody of Prognoz belies how apocalyptic and foreboding the songs lyrics are. Sudno ended up becoming a surprise viral hit in 2020, and its actually one of the stranger songs on the album, starting out foggy and hesitant before building up to a more anthemic second half. The lyrics are based on the words of Boris Ryzhy, an acclaimed Russian poet who died by suicide at the age of 26, and it describes the difficulty of facing life and finding it much easier to die. Kommersanty, originally released months after the bands debut appeared in 2017, maintains the lower fidelity of that album, as well as its more political nature, describing how businessmen rewrite history and flood the world with frightening propaganda. Etazhis subject matter is often harrowing and unflinching, but the songs themselves are remarkably well crafted, even heartbreaking at times, and the whole thing stands up to repeated, obsessive listening. ~ Paul Simpson