Release
date: January 22nd 2018. Label: RobustFellow Prod (CD) /
Kozmik Artifactz (Vinyl). Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
The
Sea – Tracklisting
1. Vero
2. Religion Of Man
3. Blood Leave A
Trail
4. Hydrophobia
5. 84 Days
6. Crows
Members
Mez - guitar, vocals
Artur - bass
Lesyk - drums
Review
Somali
Yacht Club (SYC) returns with their eagerly awaited second album –
The Sea. The Sea has the band in a more reflective and adventurous
mood with the band exploring different sounds that reminds me of ISIS
(The Band) in their prime. The Sea is very different to their
celebrated debut album. As the more psychedelic Stoner/Post-Rock
parts have been replaced by a more distinctive Doom/Post-Metal feel.
Opening
track – Vero – opens with a long instrumental sound that sees the
band blend Post-Rock, Doom, Psych and heavy Stoner riffs. The song is
perhaps one of the most progressive songs that the band has written
to date. The vocals from Mez appear around the fourth minute and it
offers a sense of calm before the music starts to drift into doomier
waters. The psychedelic post-rock/post-metal vibes do have a familiar
vibe around them. SYC inject a more soothing experimental vibe that
allows the music to flow naturally. The lyrics are very surreal at
times with the band focusing more on musical progression and heavy
melodic cinematic sounds.
Second
track – Religion Of Man – return to their familiar
shoegaze/post-rock ways. The vocals from Mez are calm and confident
throughout. The lyrics match the overall nautical theme of the album.
The song may start very quietly but it doesn’t end that way. As SYC
move into heavier Stoner/Post-Metal territory with the song becoming
more personal to the band. With this song lasting twelve minutes, SYC
have a lot of ground to cover with the many different elements of
music being played. This song is perhaps one of the best tracks on
the album. As it’s very cinematic in scope with the band creating
huge sounds that leave you wanting more.
Third
track - Blood Leave A Trail – could have easily come from their
last album. As it has a familiar sound for the opening moments before
SYC bring their new found progressive Stoner/Post-Metal sound back to
the forefront of the album. It has quite an alternative rock/metal
feel to it as well. The success of the song rests on Somali Yacht
Club’s superb ability to play the LOUD riffs against the more
subtle Post-Rock QUIET moments. With the band adopting a shorter
running time for this track, they could have easily ran out of ideas
but to their credit, the whole mood of the album becomes even
stronger as a result.
The
final three songs – Hydrophobia, 84 Days and Crows capture the same
beautifully heavy moments heard on the first half of the album.
Though Somali Yacht Club still manages to experiment with their sound
and create some haunting gloomy post-metal vibes that interact
superbly well with the familiar Psychedelic Stoner Rock/Metal riffs
the band is known for. Hydrophobia is most definitely a highlight. As
the song starts off as a conventional instrumental post-rock/doom
metal track before the band switch gears and make it a hard-rocking
Stoner Metal number that can be considered as “head-banging”
material.
The
overall sound of The Sea is very diverse from the start. Somali Yacht
Club is a very hard band to pigeon-hole and I think that’s the
point with this album. The Sea is a challenging and complex album
with many different themes and ideas that may take time to fully
understand and perhaps even admire. The production is intense with
the overall sound of the album being very loud and dynamic.
The
Sea is a thrilling and beautifully made album from Somali Yacht Club.
This is the type of album that could see the band perform or even
headline on the more prestigious Doom/Stoner Metal festivals held
around the world. Don’t be surprised if you see this album on a few
best albums of the year lists in 2018 including my own.
Words
by Steve Howe
The
Sea will be available to buy on CD/DD via RobustFellow Prods and
Vinyl via Kozmik Artifactz from January 22nd
2018.
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