Album review by Lucas Bell
Having dreams can sustain you – give you something to believe in – but the weight of expectation, the burden of reality can also mean that such dreams can become oppressive; they can just as easily shatter you. Denmark’s MØL explore the dichotomy of such dreams on their latest album, DREAMCRUSH, due for release via Nuclear Blast on January 30, 2026.
Informed by a series of disparate life events, the eleven tracks that make up the album are a tapestry of emotions, stitched together with threads of experiences that criss-cross over time and place. MØL offers the opportunity to worship at whatever psychic temple resonates the most. In amongst clouds of unfathomable loss and grief, DREAMCRUSH offers rays of almost unbearable hope – the option to keep on dreaming despite ourselves.
Song Breakdowns
DREAM – Wow. What a way to start the record. The slow build on the intro, into the darkness on the verses, and the softness on the chorus, plus the chaos of the time signature changes. Vocals on this rule, and at times it’s difficult to believe it’s just one person. Kim Song Sternkopf is a total gun vocally with the switching.
små forlis – The vibes continue into the albums second track. And after hearing this song, I coined the term that the band is basically Shoegaze Opeth. A term that should be an oxymoron. But MØL makes the sound work, to an impressive degree. A commonality throughout this review, will be my love for the choruses. They almost invert that the choruses should be loud and boisterous and catchy. The inversion of having the verses be heavy and fun, where the choruses are anchored between these moments, is an interesting creative decision.
Young – Young is the album’s second single, and is a total riff monster. God damn. This track alone has some of my favorite riffs on the record. This is probably one of the heavier songs on the record, really slipping into those black metal vibes vocally, while keeping the MØL sound alive in the moments where it needs to shine through.
Hud – In a straight flip on the last track, Hud leans more into the shoegaze aspects of the sound, feeling ethereal and floating through. The clean vocals at the start of the track are some of my favorites too, but once those black metal vocals kick in, the vibes change, despite there being no instrumental change. Something I love about this band. Their ability to float between light and darkness, purely off a vocal change and nothing else. It feels like revolutionary stuff in a time where it’s hard to find something new in music.
Garland – No word of a lie. When I heard this song for the first time, I forgot I was listening to a MØL record, and thought for a brief second, I had floated into an unreleased Children of Bodom track. I don’t know if there is much crossover or influence there, but it got me reminiscing about Alexi Laiho and his impact on the world. I know that has nothing to do with this song, or MØL. But I just speak on how songs make me feel, and I appreciate this song giving me that kind of thought, about a band I haven’t thought about a lot lately.
Favour – I was pleasantly surprised when at the 2:20 mark, I found out this was not an instrumental track. For those initial 140 seconds though, some absolutely incredible music. But then those lyrics, with that kind of instrumentation swell, I felt chills up my spine. The way Sternkopf evokes emotion through his voice, leaves me speechless at times. And the solo on this track at the end, literally perfect.
A Former Blueprint – Getting this deep into the record, I didn’t expect this song. At first, I thought it was almost an 80s new wave revival. And with what had come before, it was a pleasant surprise. But as the vocals build deeper and darker to the chorus, the mood completely changes. Another fantastic track.
∞ – A quick 49 second interlude. Nothing to say here, except that the soft reprieve feels nice, before Dissonance kicks in.
Dissonance – Some of the band’s influences include a lot of 90s alt rock bands, and you can tell this track pays homage to that sound. Feeling more like an acoustic track in the start, once the electrics fully kick in with the harsh vocals, the song really picks up.
Mimic – The two hits on the drums before everything unfolds on this song, are the small production touches that I love. Young is one of the heaviest tracks on the record. But this one IS the heaviest. I could run through walls to this song. The final seconds also totally messed with my head from a production standpoint the first time I heard it, as the drum beats flicker between each ear, and gave me this rush of anxiety that led perfectly into the final song.
CRUSH – The bleed between Mimic and CRUSH is intros and outros done right. The clap ending Mimic floats brilliantly into the intro for CRUSH, and closes the record on one of the strongest tracks on the album. And considering this record is a buffet of potential song of the year picks, starting with DREAM and ending with CRUSH makes the title of the record feel even more standout.
Final Thoughts
Eight simple words. MØL are not a band to be overlooked.
This record completely blew me away. The blending of shoegaze, black metal, and everything in between feels like things that shouldn’t work. But these five lads from Denmark have made something utterly remarkable, and unique, in a time where a lot of music feels the same.
Score – 10/10
Album Highlights – DREAM, A Former Blueprint, Mimic
