A band operating on the borderlines of post-punk, new-wave and darker ends of synth-pop, hailing from Belarus, playing music that is dark and danceable at the same time. It is a perfect emulation of the genre yet instantly recognizable as theirs, with lyrics sung in Russian. On top of that – it sounds like a mix of everything a contemporary goth can wish for, and it also sounds an awful lot like the Belarusian band Molchat Doma (which translates as “Houses are silent”).
Currently a trio with Egor Shkutko on vocal duties, Roman Komogortsev on guitar, synths, and drum machine. Including Pavel Kozlov on bass and synths.
Their second LP, Этажи (pronounced Etazhi, meaning “Floors”) was released in 2018 on Berlin-based Detriti Records. It has sold out four times and is currently on its fifth repressing due to outstanding demand. Этажи has garnered over one million views on Youtube. Despite playing to packed clubs in Warsaw, Helsinki and Berlin, they are still flying under the radar in their native Belarus.
Molchat Doma – s krish nashih domov (LP / 2017 / Detriti Records)
Molchat Doma – Etazhi (LP / 2018 / Detriti Records)
It was a surprise a while ago to discover fellow Belarusians Super Besse but finding another world-class band from so seemingly unlikely a country brings even more of a pause for thought than seeing figher planes at such close range. That reflection comes later though, as the immediate reaction is an instinctive realisation that this trio is special.
The raw ingrediants are 1979/1980 Cure and Joy Division. Singer Yegor Shkutko reinterprets Ian Curtis’ whirling arm movements without coming across as daft. They are deadly serious and it’s the way the building blocks are assembled which takes Molchat Doma elsewhere. Each song’s sonorous melody sounds as if it’s meant to be hummed. The tunes suggest unfamiliar forms of folk or traditional song, maybe a dark chanson. Whatever the raw material, Molchat Doma have cooked up a treat. Their name roughly translates as “the house is silent”.
Kieron Tyler (The Arts Desk)
Molchat Doma [молчат дома] with their, both musically and lyrically, visceral and intense 80’s influenced yet futuristic hybrid of bleak post-punk and minimalistic synth-pop.
Fabrizio Lusso(WL//WH)
Hailing from the capital Minsk, the 3-piece band is comprised of Egor Shkutko(vocals), Roman Komogortsev (guitar, synth) and Pavel ‘Pablo’ Kozlovsky (bass).
A driving mesmerizing melancholic bassline interwines with sparkling guitar chords backed by dense and precise drum machine beats, sparse claps and linndrum effects. Stabs of dour icy synth combined with the heartfelt and agonizing vocals emphasize the sense of extreme sadness and despair in questioning belief systems, death and leaving loved ones behind.
An highly compelling listening from an album to not miss out on.
Rising from the still-warm molten slag of the former Iron Curtain is Molchat Doma with “S Krish Nashih Domov” – simply put, one of the best new albums from this brutal 2017.
Andrew Zistler (Newretrowave)
This is no exaggeration – almost every track on this album feels iconic in a familiar, but also foreign way. Although it is sung entirely in Slavic, the sad, nostalgic themes still resonate deeply – the sonic accomplishment surpassing language itself.
