Belarusian post-punk/synth-pop group Molchat Doma have always exuded the brutalist aesthetic of the architecture that graces their album cover. It's cold, grey, imposing, industrial - and yet within these foundations, human hearts beat. After their breakthrough in 2020, the trio went through a polarity of experiences, from the low point of an uprooted life and a forced move from their hometown of Minsk to the tentative high point of headlining major shows around the world. It was in this mood that the band settled into their new home of Los Angeles to complete their fourth album, "Belaya Polosa," a testament to change in difficult times, a love letter to the digital pulse of the '90s, and a Technicolor reinvention of the band's gritty dancefloor anthems. Molchat Doma operate on another level here: from the opening synth swell and drum machine throb of "Ty Zhe Ne Znaesh' Kto Ya" to the goth/post-punk austerity of "Son" to the swirling electronic textures mixed with reverb-drenched guitar embellishments, the expansive space and yearning vocals of title track "Belaya Polosa" - which recalls Depeche Mode at their most reflective or The Cure at their most repressed - to the sultry and seductive "Chernye Cvety" - a piece reminiscent of Duran Duran's early '90s output in its fusion of dreamy guitars and authoritative, mechanized beats - and the interwoven layers of instrumentation and melodic sophistication of "Ya Tak Ustal." Molchat Doma made their name with previous albums that sounded like bootlegs of recordings banned in the Eastern Bloc, made after a few key entries from Factory Records' catalog were smuggled in from the West. With Belaya Polosa, they take a new direction but retain the cold, minimalist style they're known for. The basement grime and dirty tapehead sound of their earlier work now makes way for digital sheen and shimmering production values. And while Molchat Doma's expanded sonic spectrum gives Belaya Polosa a synesthetic power, the mood remains rooted in a sober and unflinching self-reflection. Molchat Doma maintain the duality of cold and fever in their delivery while pushing their music into expanded territories through an arsenal of new textures. The trio continue to harness the sound of harrowing beauty thriving beneath harsh realities.
