Morwan is the solo project of Kyiv’s Alex Ashtaui.  Svitaye, Palaye (Dawning, Burning) is his third full-length release, and follow-up to 2020’s Zola-Zemlya (Grey Earth).  It was recorded during the most challenging of contexts, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The album does not explicitly address the specifics of the attack on his homeland, but rather evokes the emotional responses to the war in all their oscillating forms – the pain, the grief, the anger, the frustration.  This backdrop infuses Morwan’s intensely rhythmic post-punk with an even more powerfully charged heft.  The surf-tinged guitars and pounding percussion form a tightly woven, darkly melancholic sonic tapestry, while chanted vocals lend an almost tribal aura.  Images of a bleakly dystopian future are conjured, but importantly not a future without hope – a fierce defiance burns at the very heart of this record.