GHLOW

In the shadowy realm of alternative music, Ghlow fuses industrial, post-punk, electronica, and garage textures into a forceful sound that echoes the Raveonettes, Crystal Castles, and Curve. The Stockholm-based pair first surfaced during the late 2010s, issuing a series of EPs that helped them cultivate an audience across the Nordic region before inking a deal with PNKSLM Recordings. That partnership yielded their proper debut album, Slash and Burn, in 2021, followed by the sophomore effort Levitate in 2024.

A random encounter in 2017 prompted Emille de Blanche and Nikolay Evdokimov to shelve their individual projects and launch Ghlow as a joint venture. De Blanche entered the partnership as a violin prodigy, while Evdokimov brought experience from his time in the ’90s Russian group Scang; together they channeled their assorted tastes into a unified aesthetic. Their initial output was a brief, self-titled EP serving as the soundtrack to the film Dom, which soon led to the follow-up release Crystal Memoriz in 2017. Drawing from the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Prodigy, Dead Kennedys, Breach, and Switchblade, the duo produced a harsh blend of threatening synths, serrated guitars, and de Blanche’s warped vocals that also drew comparisons to Nine Inch Nails and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Work on the first full-length began in 2020, resulting in the stark, eight-track Slash and Burn issued the next year and spotlighting the singles “Not Fit for This” and “Hold On.” Levitate arrived in 2024, maintaining a comparable direction while showcasing post-punk attitude on “Lost My Mind” and the heavily reverberant “Big City.”