HÉR – Monochrome
Release Date: 30th January 2026
Label: Season of Mist
Bandcamp
Genre: Old Norse, Folk-a-doodle-do!, Intense Sticky Fudge, Free Jazz, Mood Crumble.
FFO: Wardruna, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Tom Waits.
Review By: John Newlands
Monochrome marks the striking debut of Hér, a band born in Gdańsk, northern Poland, where five distinct musical personalities converged “here”, in this exact moment to form something that feels both communal and intensely focused. Their Icelandic name, Hér (“here”), is more than a label, it’s an invitation from the band to be here, be present, and experience the work they have created with intention.
Drawing heavily from old Norse wisdom poetry, Monochrome wears its philosophical roots on its sleeve. This isn’t casual listening and like its aforementioned source material, these tracks aim to impart lessons, provoke reflection, introspection, and tap into the marrow of the human condition. It’s purposeful, heady, and unashamedly weighty. Not something that is easy to pull off!!
So the question is, does it actually hit the mark? In short: yes, absolutely.
Hér manage to merge influences from a broad musical landscape without ever feeling derivative or like it lacks creativity or depth. The opener, Chant, is exactly what its name suggests, a ten-minute meditative immersion built on throat-singing and a repetitive, earth-bound motif that feels drawn from nature and should be played deep in a forest, in a cave or atop a mountain. It instantly recalls the ritualistic atmospheres of groups like Wardruna or Heilung, grounding the listener before the album branches outward from this style.
Going Down, possibly the standout track of the release for this listener, delivers a kind of dark brooding percussive groove that is both engaging and captivating while also having some swagger like one of the mellow cuts from IDLES. Elsewhere, shades of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds and Tom Waits infuse the album with a smoky, folk-adjacent darkness and flourishes of jazz.
Track 4, Patience in Observation, opens with a dark Baltic-tinged woodwind (likely saxophone) lead line that really sets the tone for the album’s shadowy, jazzy back half. The mood intensifies with “Slipknot” (Track 5), which once again weaves the sax into the fabric of the arrangement.
Throughout Monochrome, Hér move freely between free jazz, folk, world music, and deep Nordic-rooted atmospheres, without losing coherence. The production is commendably clean and every instrument has space, even in the more experimental or progressive jazzy moments. Percussion, violin, woodwind, and an array of vocal techniques (throat singing, spoken word and chant) are all used deliberately and effectively.
For me, quite crucially, the band avoid a common pitfall of this genre, length. Often I feel that albums like this run a bit long and test my patience, but at 42 minutes, Monochrome feels perfectly judged. It does its thing, leaves a mark, and then steps aside before its intensity has the chance to become overbearing or boring.
I feel that Hér have captured something genuinely distinctive within Monochrome. It’s not an accessible, daily or easy-listening release, nor is it trying to be. Monochrome is a mood piece, a deep dive, and for listeners drawn to the artists and genres referenced above, it’s absolutely worth your time giving it a spin.
(4 / 5)
