Two gigs on the bounce in New Century, tonight it’s the turn of Belarussian cold wave titans Molchat Doma. Interestingly they do share some similarities with IST IST at my previous outing, the vocals, the bass, the general ominousness and like IST IST, they’re also moving into new territory with their latest record that appeared last week. Much of the set is taken up with that record Belaya Polosa, the songs with a faster pace and brighter synths mark themselves out. I’ll admit though that I’ll struggle with titles here and lyrics as my Russian is non-existent. I think it’s fair to say this is a much different crowd too, it’s younger, less code compliant. No matter where I stand, loads of people are talking. Not everyone, the rest are nodding ferociously, their mullets and moustaches in sync to that driving drum machine. If you searched for ‘Goth Rave’ this should be the top hit. I’m a sucker for a well programmed dystopian drum machine. They fuse industrial goth with electro pop. It’s like New Order getting in bed with Depeche Mode and inviting a sleep deprived Nick Cave to sing. That’s supposed to sound like a good thing incase you weren’t sure. After repositioning a good half dozen times, I decide to take my chances with the Eminem clone making hand gestures like he’s trying to get the last remnants out of a spray can. This might be his first gig. Not a bad place to start to be fair. Egor sings with sincerity, holding tight to the mic stand as he croons and sways. Flanked by Roman and Pavel either side with banks of synths and guitars, they’re pretty animated and despite the cold aesthetic to their sound, they’re very watchable. New Century is sold out, but this feels much more intimate than my last outing with them in a field in the middle of London. They make much more sense in a dark room. Especially the older songs that first caught my ear. The sound could be a bit louder though, I know it can make the walls rattle in here, but they seem a bit throttled which is a shame. Sadly Eminem turns out to be a talker too, so after telling him off I relocate back to the left of the room. The people are shorter on this side which is nice, but there’s a few examples of epic back-combed hair that occasionally blocks out the stage. I don’t know if it’s the language barrier, but there’s definitely a detachment. There’s no singing along and the audience are a little passive. Any singing there is are “do do do”s along to the synth melodies. It’s a vibes sort of gig, the band are the focus of course, but I don’t feel quite connected. Granted this gets better the further into the room I gravitate. The sound is better too. It’s a gig you need to be near the front for really. We may be far from their native Minsk, but this sound is at home in Manchester. It’s the sound of freedom surrounded by concrete. There’s a reliable austere comfort to the bass throb and sharp motorik hi-hat. All pulled together by Egor’s voice. Yes I can’t understand a bloody word, but there’s a warmth to him that’s very engaging. I’m definitely more drawn to the older stuff, the new album is great, but occasionally they drift a bit too close to europop rave banger. Even with that baritone voice, you could almost imagine parts of the set as a rare Erasure experiments into something a little darker and harder hitting. It might not make my Top 5 gig of the year list, but they’re still bloody good live and it’s heartening to see a thousand largely younger than me people loving this sound. It’s about time we had a full on goth revival and if this is the gateway then thank you Molchat Doma. Sisters are still around and there’s a new Cure record next week 🖤
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