Molchat Doma recently published Belaya Polosa, the band’s fourth studio album, and they keep doubling down on the things that make them great. In their recent show at The Anthem, their frontman looked and danced like a wild monk while they washed the audience in bright synthpop melodies and scrubbed them in mournful Russian vocals.
In drawing from equal parts Depeche Mode and The Cure, Molchat Doma could easily fall into pastiche but instead the trio raised their heads and infused originality and raw energy into their enchanting set during their biggest DC appearance so far.
On Feb. 11, Molchat Doma took over The Anthem on an appropriately cold and snowswept evening, having graduated from selling out Black Cat and 9:30 Club on their previous DC performances. Frontman Egor Shkutko still cut a singular figure, bearded and lean. He sang in deep doleful tones and broke away during instrumental breaks to contort and drag himself in dance across the stage. The audience loved him and embraced his untraditional approach to his art.
Egor was backed by his very good bandmates, Roman Komogortsev (guitar, synthesizer, drum machine) and Pavel Kozlov (bass guitar, synthesizer). While the other two gents were largely fixed at their station, they too were filled with passion while weaving their rhythms, and the three men seemed wholly united in their mission.
Their mission? To draw inspiration from the burgeoning synthpop of the late ’70s and early ’80s, a particularly exhilarating strain of which was embraced by Eastern Europe of the time. Molchat Doma originally hail from Minsk, Belarus, from where they issued their first album, S krysh nashikh domov, in 2017. They have since relocated to Los Angles, and they signed to Sacred Bones for their third album, Monument (2020), which really put them on the map for American new wave enthusiasts.
It’s easy to like Molchat Doma in part because they wear their influences on their sleeves. They overtly show their love for The Cure and Depeche Mode, for example, in their songs. At The Anthem, Molchat Doma performed “Ne Vdvoem,” a new tune from Belaya Polosa, early in their set, and you could hear how it followed in the footsteps of “Fascination Street” by The Cure. Next, they played “Obrechen” from Monument, and you could feel a sympathetic pairing with “Strangelove” by Depeche Mode.
Still, Molchat Doma aren’t a cover band. Instead, they are owning a space largely abandoned by commercial pop bands today. Molchat Doma gave full voice to their strengths in the title track to Belaya Polosa, which expressively paired sparkling guitars with sparse synths in a perfect match for Egor’s moving baritone.
Watch the official music video for “Belaya Polosa” by Molchat Doma on YouTube:
I don’t understand Russian, of course, and Molchat Doma continue to record and sing in Russian. But the mournful mystery of the Russian lyric added a dimension of thoughtful sorrow to Molchat Doma’s music. It also echoed the international grip of new wave music upon its birth; it was not unusual to hear popular tunes in foreign languages. Nena’s “99 Luftballoons” charted at No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1983; Falco’s “Rock Me Amadeus” hit No. 1 in 1985. There is a musical gestalt form here, lurking culturally, historically, empirically.
At The Anthem, a very large crowd turned out despite the inclement weather, and we were rewarded well for our trouble. The new songs ensnared listeners easily when introduced, and everyone showed a great deal of enthusiasm for the instant classics they already knew, such as the encore sequence all lifted from Etazhi, Molchat Doma’s sophomore album (2018) — “Kletka,” “Toska,” “Tancevat,” and “Sudno (Boris Ryzhy)”. “Sudno,” based on a poem by the late Russian poet Boris Ryzhy (hence the subtitle), has emerged as a signature tune for Molchat Doma, reflecting on death and the significance of existence — a recurring theme for the band.
Molchat Doma know what they are doing, and they do it well — their growing audience is a testament to that. I would not be surprised at all to see them one day break through to the US pop charts and onward to dominate a different level of artistic dominance.
Here are some photos of Molchat Doma performing at The Anthem on Feb. 11, 2025. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.
