Morag Tong are a UK doom band, and this is their second album.
This 42-minute release is the follow up to 2018’s Last Knell of Om. Containing four tracks, including one that takes up almost half of the running time, Morag Tong have been busy in the years since their first album, and boy does it show.
It’s clear that a lot of time, thought, and care has gone into Grieve. Their debut album was good, but Grieve is on the next level up from that. Morag Tong sound like they have fully come into their own, and this new record is an exemplar of immersive, atmospheric doom.
Morag Tong adopt a textured and nuanced approach to sludgy heaviness, wrapping their thick meaty riffs in wreaths of hazy psychedelia and layered doom. The songs use melody to enhance the whole, rather than to take a starring role on its own. This is a symptom of Morag Tong’s songwriting that emphasises a holistic view of songcraft, making sure that all parts of the music serve the it holistically, rather than each component serving itself. This has resulted in each song on Grieve feeling very complete and well-rounded. Each track offers a well-composed world of its own for the listener to explore, yet Grieve also flows seamlessly across its running time too.
I like the singer’s voice a great deal, as it complements the music perfectly. Like every other aspect of Grieve, it works in concert with the rest of the musical elements, rather than serving as the main event. From emotive cleans to anguished roars, the vocals provide a rich additional layer to get lost in.
The music combines crushing heaviness with ethereal beauty, blending the two so that they coexist naturally and in unforced ways. It’s a deeply absorbing listen; you can fall into Grieve and lose yourself in its delicate ambience, walls of distortion, stratified depths, emotive substance, and compelling compositions.
Put simply, Grieve is an extremely enjoyable record that’s hugely impressive and satisfying. Morag Tong may have shown promise in the past, but now they fully realise this promise with a expertly rendered vision for their doomy art.
Essential listening for doomheads everywhere.
Wonderbox Metal 