ALBUM REVIEW: DREAMCRUSH BY MØL

Reviewed by Cecilia Pattison-Levi

Release date 30 January 2026

Floating and delicate synths with a drum kick and disarmingly charming guitar riff open the ‘Dream’ of ‘Dreamcrush’ by MØL before the dark vocal fry screams bring in an emotional tidal wave of deep feelings and sonic foreboding like a nightmare is on the way, as the light synths fade out. The song track ‘Små Forlis’ (Minor Losses) is a Nordic term with English lyrics, with a beautiful melody, great clean vocals, and a heavy screamcore overlay. It is followed by the song, and single, ‘Young’ that has a primal surge with a glorious melodic guitar riff, but also manages to have a brutal core. It is a rare trick to be able to blend this kind of death metal with the harmoniously gorgeous sounds of alternative pop-rock. The merciless blistering drum beats, with shimmering guitars and cathartic melodic release.

Denmark's MØL have delivered an intriguing album. I have been reading about “blackgaze” that I am informed means music, “epically atmospheric zone where black metal intersects with shoegaze”. I am unsure what this means: but as a listener and music fan, it is great to hear bands like MØL innovating with collided musical worlds.

The next song on ‘Dreamcrush’ is ‘Hud’ (Skin/Fur) with its plucked acoustic guitar start and those gorgeous floating vocals that scream vulnerability before the dark cathartic voice overtakes the musical narrative with an added epic guitar solo. Then, ‘Garland’ has a grunge-pop core with all that alt-rock razzle-dazzle downbeat before the stormy intensity hits in surging guitars and heavy vocal fry. It is followed by the beautiful ‘Favour’ with its glorious musicality that has the hard vocal fry cut into that musical world near the end to add that spice of darkness.

MØL have delivered an album that explores the contradictions and fragile tension between dream and nightmare, aspiration and disillusionment. Hopes and dreams can both sustain life and destroy it with false ideas and promises that come to nothing if there is no action or work to make things happen. Across the 11 songs, the Danish band have woven together a rich musical soundscape to frame the emotional upheavals and shifting realities of life.

MØL (Ken Lund Klejs,Holger Rumph Frost, Kim Song Sternkopf, Sigurd Kehlet, and Nicolai Busse) continue on with ‘A Former Blueprint’ that has that real shoegaze sound in the insistent drums and beautiful clean vocals where “the pressure builds”. The song ‘∞’ (the infinity symbol similar to the band’s logo) is a 49 second piece of musical loveliness with chiming electric guitars and synth. It is followed by ‘Dissonance’ led in by an acoustic guitar and that lovely voice. The dissonance is in dispute – is it the dark heavy metal voice or the tuneful rock?

‘Dreamcrush’ closes out with the two songs: the hardcore ‘Mimic’ with its huge guitar riffs and “no need to pretend”. Then, ‘Crush’ with its big alt-rock hook as the lyricism discusses recovery, grief, and sadness at crushed dreams. The song has a light central core of the guitar entreating the listener to engage in defiant hope: the music is an invitation to keep dreaming, even when the weight of false dreams threatens to crush us.

MØL have created an album of light and darkness that will intrigue heavy metal and rock listeners. Something special is going on in ‘Dreamcrusher’ and it requires repeated listens to hear its message, as it has a gossamer veil of melody cloaking the darkness – you need to follow the songs to get to the cathartic release.