Møl – Dreamcrush
Møl – Dreamcrush
Nuclear Blast
Release Date: 30/01/2026
Review by Rory Bentley
9/10
Funny thing about me, I’m not a particularly massive fan of Shoegaze or Black Metal, but I definitely fuck with a bit of Blackgaze. Deafheaven, the daddies of the genre, swiped my number 1 slot for Albums of the Year for 2025, and I also love a bit of Alcest in my lugholes, so when Møl dropped this in our inbox, after gracing us with two stellar albums in the past, I was all over it.
What I love about Møl is that despite Kim’s skin-peeling screeches and some truly punishing riffs, they have a sense of fun and a bit of rock and roll swagger about them. Sure, they definitely plumb the emotional, cathartic depths of a Deafheaven when they want to- but there’s also a big chunk of balls-out stadium Indy in places that works magnificently. They’re almost like a kvlt Oasis, or a necro Stone Roses in their approach, and I mean that as a compliment (let’s all stop pretending that Oasis don’t have 2 perfect albums, we’re all grown-ups here). The point being, they’ve got a little more potential for enticing some ears outside of the extreme underground, and on “Dreamcrush” that potential is magnified considerably.
We open with the celestial organ tones of ‘Dream’, creating a euphoric vibe until the drums kick in and all hell breaks loose whilst still bombarding the listener with huge, gorgeous melodies and Kim’s immaculate scream, which is just the right pitch and timbre to skate over the top of this glorious din. The clean vocals are also very well done, mirroring the chiming keys in the song’s more stripped back section and are the first hint we get that the frontman has massively stepped up his game.
‘Små folis’ sees him slide into a lovely, warm baritone register that adds further uniqueness to the band’s sound. More huge melodies ensue that, were they not played with such frenetic aggression, would sound off-puttingly saccharine, showing the fine balance that the band walk so impressively. None more so than on single ‘Young’, which is so close to being a 2000s Pop Punk/Emo song that I was initially concerned for the local children in my area. I don’t think that’s even libellous at this stage. Anyway, fortunately the verses are pure Metal and the whole song is the kind of uplifting aggression that I’ve come to love from the band.
Staying on the singles train, ‘Garland’ is magnificent. Laying down some straight-up Shoegaze with Kim’s lovely warm croon that morphs into a shriek as the intensity increases. I think what I love is that it reminds me of latter day Rolo Tomassi on something like ‘Aftermath’, but with rich male vocals replacing the feminine, angelic parts Eva brings to that band. It is commendable that despite being quite radio-friendly, the song, along with many other similar moments, never feels like a conscious decision to court the mainstream; merely a natural evolution.
There’s still plenty of the old Møl to enjoy everywhere as well- ‘Mimic’ lies in wait at track 10 ready to pounce after your heartstrings have been tugged by ‘Dissonance’ and its plaintive balladry, and earlier on ‘Favour’ descends into pure, raging nightmare fuel, bolstered with epic lead guitars that sound like Dream Theatre for people who fuck.
Capping off with the glorious ‘Crush’, which acts as something of a summary of the record; pulling each disparate element into a cohesive whole, it is clear from the first listen that this is a massive step up for the band and potentially leaves them poised for much bigger things. If it wasn’t for the fact that I have no faith in my fellow humans I’d say their ascent is nailed on. As it stands though, Møl have done their part by throwing down an album of the year contender in the first month of the year; it’s on the rest of us to catch the fuck up and do our bit now!
TRACKLISTING:
01. DREAM
02. små forlis
03. Young
04. Hud
05. Garland
06. Fabour
07. A Former Blueprint
08. oo
09. Dissonance
10. Mimic
11. CRUSH
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