MELT MOTIF – Particles. Death Objective

The brilliant Norwegian/Brazilian purveyors of melancholic textures and soundscapes known as Melt Motif impressed me greatly last year by means of their uniquely crafted A White Horse Will Take You Home. This latest slice of experimental excellence sounds like the logical next step, or the natural successor to the aforementioned 2022 opus, if you will. Electronica, industrial rock, trip hop, noise rock, and darkwave all figure prominently in the outfit’s creative and cleverly constructed sonic cathedral, and one can but marvel at how fluid and cohesive everything is, especially considering the number of layers that are constantly in play throughout. One thing that sets Particles. Death Objective apart from A White Horse Will Take You Home is that while the latter is a dense and quite challenging piece of work, the former is more accessible and instantly memorable to these ears. Having said that, both releases pack an emotional punch and resonate with me, and they are akin to small odysseys of sorts albeit of the introspective and haunting kind. It is simply that one takes a little more effort on the part of the listener to absorb and digest properly.

Cinematic in scope and feel, crammed with great ideas, and capable of keeping the listener engaged from beginning to end, this is one eclectic and original-sounding record that the openminded listeners out there ought to make a note of. Favorite tracks include ‘I’m Gone’, ‘Never Again’, ‘Chainsaw’, and the bleak album closer ‘Fever’.