Somali Yacht Club - The Sea - guest review
Somali Yacht Club - The Sea - guest review
Tracklist
01. Vero02. Religion Of Man
03. Blood Leaves A Trail
04. Hydrophobia
05. 84 Days
06. Crows
Guest review by
musclassia May 06, 2018
The tone is definitively subdued throughout The Sea, with extensive opener "Vero" instantly setting the mood for the near-hour of music to follow. Opening with a bouncy post-rock riff, it slowly blends into distortion and morphs through mellow post-rock landscapes for several minutes before the first vocals appear. The vocal approach on this album also departs from the typical hazy croons or foggy yells of most stoner rock albums, instead operating with a cleaner, softer, more emotional sound closer to alternative metal bands such as Eden Circus. After an 11-minute slow-burn of gradually layered atmosphere built around mellow post-rock and stoner rock riffs, "Vero" gives way to the equally lengthy "Religion Of Man", another spacious, downbeat post-rock-dominated journey that slowly marches via stretches of heavy, trudging doom riffs onto a slick stoner bass groove and, finally, an uncharacteristically lively extended guitar solo section. After that, the music gets more diverse, with distinct elements exhibiting greater prominence on the different songs.
So, after dwelling for so long on how the album sounds, it's probably time to discuss whether it's worth listening to. On the whole, I would definitely say yes; it's a relatively distinctive sounding album that generally nails the vibe it is gunning for, and is consistently enjoyable throughout. However, I do wonder what it means for the more 'adventurous', for lack of a better word, parts of the album when my favourite moments are the more typically 'stoner metal' parts, such as the aforementioned latter half of "Religion Of Man", the psychedelic jam vibe and closing pummelling riffs of "Hydrophobia", and the sonic maelstrom of "84 Days". The post-rock-inspired crescendos are generally well-measured but there are certain moments where I feel it can tend to drag on. And finally, whilst I think the album is pleasant throughout, I struggle to remember many moments of real captivation to lift it up to that level of true 'greatness'.
Like groups such as Sunnata, Somali Yacht Club offer up a fresh spin on a rich but well-explored genre, and in doing so deliver one of the early highlights of 2018. The Sea takes the listener on a subdued, dynamic, sonically rich journey (the production does a fine job of allowing all instruments to shine through the mix and preserving the intended feel of the music), and in doing so conveys a real sense of contemplation and emotion. If they continue to build on this success, Somali Yacht Club could be onto something special here.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 9 |
Written by musclassia | May 06, 2018
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
Comments:
3
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Posts: 15359
Nice work, enjoyed the release myself. was NOT what I was expecting given the band name and no prior history with the band.
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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Posts: 8671 Written by BitterCOld on 07.05.2018 at 23:07 I'm assuming the name is supposed to be a reference to piracy in Somalia, if so it does amuse me slightly, and I agree it doesn't necessarily bring to mind the kind of music that ended up being on the album. I stumbled across the album on a doom/stoner rock/metal youtube channel, it was an intriguing discovery compared to a lot of the other bands on the same channel
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 Posts: 9628 |
Posts: 9628
So glad I got to see these guys live at a festival even though it was 1AM and I was half asleep
---- Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking One day there will be no heart at all?
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