With Motinai, Kreiviskai turns the archetype of Eastern European neofolk inside out, tracing a path from minimal acoustic beauty to expansive, genre-defying hybridization. The album’s roots sink deep into folk tradition—acoustic guitar, voice, and drums generate moments of stark vulnerability, particularly on the final passages of tracks such as “Creation.” Even at its most stripped-down, the music radiates a kind of humble intensity, the melodies unspooling with deliberate pacing and haunting fragility. Rather than remain static, Kreiviskai’s approach is elastic. Percussion morphs into tribal processions, drawing parallels with the precision of Wardruna while anchoring itself in distinctly Slavic landscapes through bayan flourishes on pieces like “To Horizon.” This movement crescendos on “Green Oak,” where rhythmic layering and melodic propulsion conjure a sense of ritual transformation. Yet, tradition is never treated as museum artifact; rather, the album thrives on reinvention. “Footprints In The Snow” is emblematic: neofolk tradition collides with mechanical, distorted beats until the entire mix leans toward electronica and EBM, pushing boundaries while retaining a sense of authentic excitement.
As the sequence unfolds, Kreiviskai dips into darkwave and post-punk territory, notably on “The Clearcut,” where a prominent bassline adds a brooding depth, and the ambiance grows more ambiguous. The band leverages minimal instrumentation and field samples to create ritual ambient vignettes, at times reminiscent of church soundscapes on tracks like “Agia Parthene.” This versatility reveals a core strength—the capacity to connect esoteric folk roots to more experimental motifs without losing cohesion or accessibility. What stands out most is the hook-laden songwriting. Whether through folk progressions or industrial sound design, Motinai never lacks in memorability. Lines linger after listening; refrains and melodic fragments embed themselves in the mind, ensuring the album’s effect is both immediate and enduring. Kreiviskai’s ability to move between meditative folk minimalism and driving, genre-blurring experimentation marks them as adepts in both honoring and reshaping tradition. Motinai ultimately serves as a compelling demonstration of the group’s potency—a record that is as catchy as it is artistically daring, interweaving the ancient and the modern with seamless confidence.
