There’s rarely anything more satisfying than hearing a band come fully into its own – whose work you’ve enjoyed and admired for years, but for one reason or another, it seemed never quite put all the pieces together in the right order to make it a complete, fully-realized project.  Of course, any band or artist’s existence is inherently a journey of self-discovery, of evolution and mutation in pursuit of bringing a vision, a sound, a taste to life (am I sounding fucking obnoxious enough yet?).

For over a decade now, Denmark’s Møl has been a steady force in the ever-growing work of Shoegaze-driven Black Metal, borrowing certainly from the likes of genre innovators like Cult of Luna and Deafheaven, though perhaps always more willing to reach more for the eccentricities of Converge’s melodic leanings of Rolo Tomassi. But as impressive as earlier releases certainly were, there was a sense that there was something more the band had left to prove.

Where 2018’s Jord (their first full-length) felt like a rock-solid Blackgaze record reminiscent of (and for my tastes, preferred to) Ghost Bath or ColdWorld, 2021’s Diorama felt like a band starting to forge their own path – adding more progressive and “post” elements to their sound in ways that felt more self-assured and authentic. Still, there were moments on that record where you could have said “ok, this is cool, but it’s just Deafheaven, right?” You’d need look no further than the earworm, but certainly derivative main melody of the opening track “Fraktur” to find one of many shining examples.

But as artists are (should be) wont to do, it seems Møl continued to evolve behind the scenes, not content to rest on their laurels until they developed a sound that, definitively, was their own. With DREAMCRUSH, it seems the band has not only achieved that, but has elevated their game to heights that should, deservedly, capture the attention of every extreme music fan on the planet. It’s a fucking masterpiece.

The thing that’s immediately noticeable about Dreamcrush is just how easy an album it is to listen to. From production and mastering, to the song structures and overall tone of the record, this is an album that begs prolonged listening sessions. There is, undoubtedly, a certain sector of the metal world that will sneer at this album’s accessibility, but I cannot fathom being turned off by a recording that sounds as lush and vibrant as this. From the opening crescendo of “DREAM,” which indeed sounds like the warming up of a pit orchestra at the beginning of some opera or grand stage performance, you know immediately that this is going to be something special, and after a bright, airy guitar intro introduces the band, you are very suddenly thrown right into the album in earnest, marked by vocalist Kim Song Sternkopf first of many higher-pitched screams and a storm of distorted guitars. But what really grabs you is the clean vocal section, accentuated by very pretty synth (or maybe it’s guitar, hard to say) hits that match the vocal melody. It is so simple, and yet so effective, showcasing a newer side to the band’s sound that is as welcome as it is intoxicating, marking a sense of balance that proves to be the hallmark of this entire album.

And indeed, “Sma Forlis” nails home the point, hitting first with a hard-hitting staccato delivery of fierce guitars, drums, and Sternkopf’s sneering vocal attack that borrows as much from early-2000s Metalcore as it does the more Blackened stylings we’re used to from the band. But before you think we’re going full-on blitzkrieg, the band pulls back into another brilliant clean section that lands like an eye to a category 5 hurricane – somewhat disorienting, but altogether welcome and strangely beautiful. Much like a hurricane, however, the brief respite only serves to make the impact of the back half of the storm hit all the more devastatingly, and at an economical 3 minutes 45 seconds, the band proves they’re capable of getting a lot done in a relatively small package.

The condensed delivery of the songs does serve the band really well on this album, as well. If there’s one criticism I’ll buy in a lot of Blackgaze/Atmospheric Black Metal, it’s the susceptibility to become over-bloated, or providing SO much space that the real impact of the songs is diminished. Not so much here, as Møl get right to the point on virtually every track, with standout singles “Young” and “Garland” each coming in well under the 4-minute mark (in fact, closer “CRUSH” is the only track to eclipse 5 minutes), and yet the band still has no trouble taking you on a journey with each and every effort. “Young” hits with such an uplifting, hopeful flair that I can’t help but think of a band like Astronoid as an apt comparison, even including one of the band’s rare instances of a really nice, if simple and effective guitar solo. But it’s the chorus’s main riff that really grabs your attention, and paired to the rumbling double bass attack of the verses, once again serves the duality of the album so beautifully.

Sternkopf’s impassioned vocal performance is once again a real highlight of this album, but this track, along with standouts like “A Former Blueprint” and “Mimic” proves that the work of Nikolai Hansen and Sigurd Kehlet absolutely cannot be ignored, pulling influences not just from the usual suspects, but also culling from places you may not expect. The verse guitars on “Garland” (which is, so far, my favorite song of a young 2026), as well as the opening riff of “Dissonance,” could very easily be mistaken for something recorded by Chevelle, and god damn if both aren’t effective in the context of these tracks.

What impresses me most is that everything on DREAMCRUSH seems so intentional and detail-driven. No part of this record is made without consideration of every other element put to recording, and the end result is an album that, despite its wide net of influences, feels wholly cohesive and complete. For the first time in Møl’s career, I don’t feel myself wanting more from the band. This feels very much like the band was meant to be all along, and I’m now just thrilled to see what the band is able to do with this newfound confidence and ability moving forward. Whether you’re already acquainted with the band or this is your first foray, I BEG of you to give DREAMCRUSH a listen. For me, it’s an instant classic, and perhaps even a new benchmark for the genre. Insane performance.

 

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