Living in exile affects every fibre of your being. The possibility of never being able to return to your home country, especially if you’re an active artist, seeps into your work, twisting and tangling itself into everything you create. Dlina Volny, like their more famous counterparts, Molchat Doma, escaped Belarus and chose not to hide. Since the release of their second album, Dazed, in 2021, they’ve evolved, embracing heavier and colder sounds that reflect the current political climate. Their music evokes the grey, Cold War-era atmosphere of a world where we live our everyday lives, constantly sensing that something is about to happen, something is about to change. But will it shift for the worse or for the better? We have no idea.
On their newly released third album, In Between, which dropped at the beginning of August, they blend dark synthwave with post-punk, merging delicate, feminine sounds with deep bass and unsettling soundscapes. The result has that neon glow reminiscent of 1980s Eastern Europe, where the streets glowed harshly in the dark, concealing the cold concrete during long and grey winters.
I had to convince our editor to cover their show, as Dlina Volny isn’t exactly the type of band we usually write about. However, I know many metalheads who would appreciate their sound, including myself. A glance at the crowd stepping through the door of the Black Heart revealed a more “sophisticated” demographic, with some fans trying to sneak whole bottles of wine into the upstairs venue. Slavic languages blended around me in deep discussions over vodka or gin & tonics. Space felt like a bat cave, the dark, cold blue stage lights casting eerie shadows as we waited.
Dlina Volny is no stranger to creating atmosphere. Their debut album was mixed by Dean Hurley, who worked with the legendary David Lynch. If you appreciate Lynch’s work, you’ll find a similar sensibility in their sound. The way they made us all move was almost trance-like, reminiscent of the dream sequences in Twin Peaks. With its bleak, grey aesthetic, the music pulled us into a cold, dystopian world, one of our own making, one we’re all currently living in.
Our inner unrest and confusion were triggered by cleverly written synth lines and distorted bass riffs, which were softened by Masha’s delicate voice, at times flowing like honey, at times distorted and as haunting as the instrumentals. She added a layer of beauty, a sense of normalcy amidst the chaos, parallel to falling in love, feelings of desire and all the layers of humanity, with small offerings of hope in between the chilling and gothic notes. This juxtaposition is what guides us through their transformation into new and heavier sounds.
Eastern Europeans are masters at embracing depressive subjects. It’s what generational trauma and brutalist surroundings do to us in that part of the world. Yet, within those concrete coffins, we remain some of the warmest people you’ll meet. That warmth was felt throughout the crowd during the entire set, and the hunger for more music exhaled when the show ended. “One more song!” we all chanted, unwilling to let go. Dlina Volny returned to deliver two more tracks, because when Slavs host you, you get spoiled.
Dlina Volny is heading on a European tour in October, follow their socials for more info.