2026 has been stacked with nasty releases from such misery merchants as Sugar Horse, Chat Pile and Shearling, it would seem almost foolish then for relative newcomers Moni Jitchell to wade in to the conversation.
However, the Glaswegians don’t so much wade in, as splash in like a cannonball dropped from a great height, with their own unique brand of despair. Across nine noisy tracks, the brevity with which they deliver their unsettling doom punk is admirable. Flitting gracefully between stomping, noise-inflected grooves and winding riffy refrains, they are immensely resourceful and impress with their ability to build drama and intrigue without superfluous decoration.
It’s difficult to categorise Moni Jitchell, but they sound a bit like if La Dispute were fed on a diet of Prostitute and Show Me The Body. Where there is harsh noise and discord, equally there is melody. Where it all sounds like it could come apart at any minute, they show restraint. The entirety of this 22-minute epic is stuffed with equal parts nuance and detail and it’s a remarkable achievement for the band.
Though the prospect of a noisy two-piece may seem a little trite in the current landscape, it is hard to deny the charm and simplicity of the band’s delivery on AWARE. Without falling prey to the studio and overindulging themselves creatively, they strike a good balance between detailed and sparse arrangements and the songs are clearly designed with the live circuit in mind. Their focus and vision is exemplified in the directness of their approach and it would seem that in this case, at least, the fewer cooks, the richer the broth.
Where many bands would rely on dissonant feedback and menacing chords to do the heavy lifting in their pursuit of dread, there is a significant rhythmic component to the atmospheres that Moni Jitchell create. Eerily hypnotic grooves compound and compliment a shrieking vocal delivery (Grant Donaldson pulling double duty), ramping up the tension that David Scott creates with twisting, malignant guitar lines. There are many strings to their bow, as tracks like the title track demonstrate, serving up tasteful morsels of consonant melody, tucked within a crust of gloomy despair.
The franticness of it all is truly the standout feature of AWARE, but Moni Jitchell’s ability to rein themselves in and show different sides to themselves is what makes their sound so delectable. The breakneck pace of ‘Faults’ races like a freight train about to derail, followed by the subdued and sultry grooves of ‘Ache’ and ‘No Offering’. The album culminates in the gloriously suffocating ‘Limp Eyes’ and it feels as though you’ve experienced all the drama of a blockbuster, condensed into this concise package. There really is no telling where Moni Jitchell could go next, proving they can stuff myriad influences into a tightly packed and eclectic body of work. Their passion is undeniable, their devotion to their craft is clear and all that remains is for the world to get onboard with them.