Melt Motif - 2022 - A White Horse Will Take You Home

(37:49; Apollon Records)

Track list:
1. Sleep 4:19
2. Mine 3:52
3. Everything Will Disappear 3:48
4. Andalusian Dog 4:08
5. Black Hole 4:12
6. Blood 4:14
7. The City 4:48
8. Not What They Seem 3:00
9. Random Access Memory 5:28

Line-up:
Rakel - vocals
Kenneth Rasmus Greve - synthesizers, guitars, programming
with:
Joe Irente - guitars, bass, programming
Mark James Adair - vocals, guitars


Norwegian band Melt Motif is, from what I can understand, a fairly recent creation. The first signs of official life from this venture dates back to 2021 or thereabouts, and this spring they have released their debut album "A White Horse Will take You Home" through Norwegian label Apollon Records.

While the name of the band, the album title and the album cover art may indicate that this is music that may have a bit of a romantic edge to it, that is not the case at all here. For my sake I would describe the music as being inside of a context of electronic industrial music, and a rather expressive one too as far as this landscape is concerned. With the word dystopian being at the very tip of my tongue when tracking down the one key word that will describe this album better than anything else.

The band does play around with many elements here, that is probably a given whenever someone use the word expressive to describe music. Hence elements from dub and trip-hop are recurring parts of the totality here, especially in the rhythms department. Often delivered by electronic means, and electronic textures and effects are a staple here in general. From delicate sounds through to noise textures, a booming synth bass and various overlays and undercurrents. The darker tones and textures tend to be delivered in a manner that gives the tones a certain warmth, while the lighter tones and textures have a tendency to add a more cold and otherworldly tinge to the proceedings. Besides this natural contrast, the soundscapes have a tendency to reside on the border between melodic intent and noise disruption, and frequently venturing back and forth between sparse arrangements and majestic and at times monumental ones. Hard industrial oriented passages are recurring elements too, with hard guitars playing a prominent role for those sections, but electronic industrial landscapes are just as much of a recurring presence here. With several instances of parts and sequences bordering electronic noise music and noise rock to boot.

The voice of lead vocalist Rakel provides a striking contrast to all the other elements throughout. She has a very fine voice in general, and is a master of the soft and borderline ethereal mode of delivery. Which adds a distinctly otherworldly and human presence to the often more harsh and dark landscapes explored here. The human element that provides a dreamladen and softer touch to the proceedings that in sum creates slightly unnerving otherworldly landscapes rather than soundscapes with a bit more of harsh and unforgiving nature. The album would have been intriguing without this vocal style, but is solid with moments of pure brilliance with them. Cue opening track 'Sleep', which was a very good choice to release as a single from this production, a haunting creation that captures some of the most haunting landscapes of dystopian dark beauty that this production has in store.

For those who find beauty in dystopian electronic and industrial landscapes, and appreciate the contrast between ethereal and beautiful vocals with the more grim and haunting landscapes crafted by electronic and instruments, Melt Motif is a band that should be quite rewarding to get to know a bit better. A dark and haunting experience: Alluring, compelling and unnerving in an otherworldly, dystopian manner.

Olav M. Björnsen, May 2022

Links:
https://meltmotif.com/
https://www.apollonrecords.no/