Years before the song “Sudno” went viral on Tik Tok, Belarusian post-punk trio Molchat Doma was self-releasing lo-fi coldwave bangers on CD and cassette out of Minsk. Their choppy basslines, hard-hitting Linn drum samples, and ghostly vintage synths, matched with singer Egor Shkutko’s gloomy vocal style, cultivate dark, dancey grooves with a Soviet twist. Although their follow-up record, Etazhi, was the true breakthrough for the band, S Krysh Nashikh Domov is a grittier introduction to their signature sound. Right off the bat, the song “doma molchat” smacks you in the face with its overblown synthpop melody. On the opposite end, slower tracks like “tishina” and “krishi” display a more laidback melancholia that could sit alongside cuts off New Order’s Power Corruption and Lies or The Cure’s Disintegration.

• grey marble colored vinyl
• digital download included
• original release year: 2017
• music label: Sacred Bones Records 2021

reviewed by SHH! 06/2021