Review: Mika Häkki ‘Mørker’

I must admit, I wasn’t surprised to see Mika Häkki, the eccentric bassist and wielder of the fuzziest of tones for Sweden’s all-mighty Monolord, release Mørker, his second solo album in three years, as it seems all three members of the aforementioned Monolord are currently involved in exploring the more varied side of their individual musical talents.

Witness, as vocalist/guitarist Thomas V. Jäger has released a whopping five solo albums in four years, all of which explore the softer, spacey, acoustic and synth side of his talents, while drummer Esben Willems, joined Slower, the Slayer-inspired doom metal project featuring Bob Balch (Fu Manchu) and Amy Tung Barrysmith (Year Of The Cobra), releasing two albums with them, before dropping his debut full-length solo album, Glowing Darkness in 2024, which turned out to be a quirky, bouncy, rock album, while just announcing a new project, Chaos Under The Sun, a synth heavy project that also features audio wizard Mattias Nyberg.

I had Häkki’s first solo album, 2024’s Vemod, on my radar, enjoying the first single, but for whatever reason, I never went back to it. With that, I was excited and curious to hear Mørker, imagining a cohesive, weird, yet mellow experience. As expected, Häkki presents a more chilled approach, but with enough sonic diversity to keep the album unpredictable, holding the listener’s attention throughout.

Opener, Take This Light Away is a strumming acoustic, folky, singer/songwriter affair that picks up a bit of steam as it builds towards a an ear-worm chorus featuring the lyrics ‘dark will prevail, all light will fail, come darkness, take this light away’, which I found easy to identify with. When You’re Old, a theme I can also relate to, is a synth-drenched acoustic track featuring some cool, clean, electric guitar flourishes and noodling for good measure, adding depth and diversity to the song. Häkki’s earnest and airy vocals are a total throwback to the ‘60s and ‘70s singer/songwriter era, where he evidently would’ve fit right in.

full of thoughtful instrumentation, folky acoustics and self-reflective lyrics…

Time Stood Still follows a similar synth and acoustic approach, also featuring echo-y guitar playing and yearning, melancholic lyrics, but boasts an underlying, psychedelic, fuzzy darkness. There’s no doubt that the album’s center piece is the trippy, late-night, desert psych of Couch Anthem. Even though our hero is in Scandinavia, he’s able to conjure one of the coolest, cruising down a deserted desert highway late at night jams I’ve heard in a while. The rhythm effortlessly keeps the song driving along as his spacey vocals are enveloped by waves of surf-y, slightly distorted guitar and psychedelic organ flourishes.

Makes No Sense is a somber, yet hopeful neo-folk acoustic track that appears to be waxing on the state of the world. At the same time, Another Reason To Stay is an airy, synth composition that reminds me of John Frusciante’s idiosyncratic solo records, while closer Weighted Daze is the epic, contemplative, quasi-rock song that this record calls for. The reflective lyrics and soaring chorus speak to this, while deftly complemented by some emotional lead guitar stylings, again, recalling Frusciante’s solo work for this reviewer. 

I found Mørker to be a cool, interesting, pensive album, full of thoughtful instrumentation, folky acoustics and self-reflective lyrics. I especially enjoyed Couch Anthem and can see myself revisiting this record. I must say, I do find it interesting, that instead of making a new Monolord album, as we haven’t had one since 2021’s stellar Your Time To Shine, the three musicians instead seem determined to get their varied forms of musical expressions off their collective chests, which is fine, but in the meantime, I’ll also continue to wait patiently for a new Monolord record.

Label: Majestic Mountain Records
Band Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram

Scribed by: Martin Williams