PHANTOM SWAY

    • Are you Ready for 2021’s Version of Post Punk/New Wave? Introducing – Molchat Doma

    Okay, I’m going to do it. It’s been long overdue. I’m going to bring some of you and your musical tastes out of the dark ages. Let’s leave the basement of our musical psyche and walk outside into the sunshine, where frankly I think we all belong.

    I get it…a lot of new music on the radio is crap. I think we can all agree upon that. But a lot of new music is really freaking good! Don’t get me wrong, I love the way music takes us back to a time and place. A time where things may have seemed a little more simple. Things like no debt, clunker car, friendship bracelets, Jerry curls, and laser tag.

    This was also a time full of firsts. First set of nunchucks. First broken bone. First love lost.  First time to second base. All those first moments came with a soundtrack that connects us forever with the music of our youth. This is why we hold on so tight to older music and steer away from the music of today. And I’m here to rescue you from mediocrity. It’s time to take a leap of faith and check out some new music.

    If you are like me, you listened to a lot of music during the pandemic, and during that time I came to the realization that a lot of the “New Music” that I’ve been listening to sounded a lot like some of the old music that I grew up on. So I’ve decided to grab you by the elbow like the Boomer you are and gently walk you through a series of articles introducing you to new artists that sound a whole lot like the musicians we all know and love. First stop, Post Punk/New Wave – Molchat Doma

    Let’s kick this off for all you Post Punk/New Wave music junkies out there. Let’s just get it out of the way. We all loved some form of punk or new wave music at some point growing up. Whether you are willing to admit that Post Punk New wave is much more tolerable than full-blown Punk music, that’s up to you. I’m from the school of New Wave, Post Punk. Don’t get me wrong, I have my “Real Punk Music” moments. The thing about real punk is that real punk has to be played loud and requires a certain level of angst. It’s work. But it’s the perfect antidote when you want to tell the world around you to F*%#@ Off!!

    I’m still not sure if I’m more of a punk rock guy or a Post Punk/New Wave guy. They both serve as my ultimate equalizer to the commercial music that permeates us.  Anyway, I could go on and on comparing The Cramps to The Cure. Buzzcocks to PIL. The Slits vs. Siouxie and the Banshees. But I digress.

    For now, let’s focus on New Wave Post Punk. For my age group, New Order, Depeche Mode, The Smiths, and The Cure were probably the most notable, college radio-friendly Post-Punk/New Wave Bands out there. But one of my favorites was Joy Division. Joy Division will always have a special place in my heart. There was something about Ian Curtis’s mellow angst. His nonchalant F you’s and his brilliant, tortured mind. A group of guys who fought to bring us something new, something real.

    This brings me to our first artist. Let me introduce you to Molchat Doma.

    Molchat Doma (which means “Houses Are Silent”) is a band out of Minsk, Belarus. They have been described as a band that “stands at the intersection of post-punk, new-wave and synth-pop. Dark, yet danceable, and with a heavy dose of goth ethos.” I like them because it takes me back to my leather biker jacket, Doc Marten days when my friends and I would jerk around the dance floor all night into the sweaty Chicago mornings. I enjoy losing myself in their deadpan tones and rhythmic backbeats. It’s just pure fun.

    Pavel Kozlov, Egor Shkutko and Roman Komogortsev

    Mark Davis
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