Brutalist eastern European synthpop
Who they?
Belarusian band Dlina Volny (Russian for Wavelength) are Masha Zinevitch, Ales Shishlo and Vad Mikutski. The trio describe their sound as brutpop – a darkly romantic reflection on the twin influences of their country’s brutalist architecture and the Soviet synthpop they grew up listening to.
Why Dlina Volny?
Dlina Volny formed in 2016 and released their first EP ‘Neizmerima’ the same year. Their debut album ‘Mechty’ followed in 2018. More recently, with Belarus making international headlines for all the wrong reasons, they issued the ominous single ‘Whatever Happens Next’ in 2020 as a protest at the country’s political tensions. In happier news, last year they signed to Italians Do It Better and are set to bring their sultry post-punk-meets-darkwave to wider audiences with new long-player ‘Dazed’.
Tell us more…
An addictive template of motorik rhythms, vintage synth swirls and inky disco grooves gives ‘Dazed’ an irresistible pull. The opener and title track hooks you in with a bassline that grips as tight as octopus tentacles, while Masha Zinevitch’s smoky contralto sketches out a romantic tryst with a venomous edge. Although the record is undoubtedly coloured by Belarus’ turbulent political climate, it’s equally a collection of twisted love songs. Their sound is richly cinematic – on ‘Redrum’, which nods to Kubrick’s hotel of horrors in ‘The Shining’, Zinevitch sings, “I want red wine to be the symbol of our last evening together” before coming back with the whip-smart rejoinder, “I hope you miss me / Because I sure will not miss you”. They even turn a deft hand to a cover of Madonna’s ‘Hollywood’, reimagining it as a glacial landscape of neon lights and dark highway drives.
‘Dazed’ is out now on Italians Do It Better
