Album Review: Somali Yacht Club – The Space (Season of Mist)

Somali Yacht Club is a moniker designed to represent dichotomy and variance. Named after the real-life pirates who attack vessels off the Somalian coast and the peaceful leisure of those with time to kill and money to burn, Somali Yacht Club musically embodies the boundless, wide-open, quiet/loud spaces that atmospheric post-rock and metal occupy.

After over a decade of mesmerizing audiences in their Ukrainian home base and Eastern Europe, Somali Yacht Club inked a deal with Season of Mist in 2021 to reissue their back catalogue and release their third full-length, The Space. Out on April 22nd, 2022.

A hard hitting but infinitely dreamy sound, Somali Yacht Club take the listener on a progressive and hazy journey with The Space. Where atmospheric and cinematic soundscapes meld with post-rock, psychedelia and stoner-infused energy.

Don’t be surprised if you find your mind drifting away to the sound of Silver. Somali Yacht Club delivering thumping drums, electrifying guitars and wistful vocals on a stronger opener.

Grander, with an immense gravitational pull, Pulsar sees Somali Yacht Club really stretch their progressive post-metal muscles and the end result is startling. A track that is all about its peaks and valleys. Where one minute you can be falling into a soft bed of feathers and in another, you can be forcibly dragged to your feet and made to take on a steep climb. A wandering epic that doesn’t feel obligatory or drawn out for the sake of it.

Obscurum is the height of Somali Yacht Club’s energy as the post-beat gets a little peppier but without compromising on their innate ability to send the mind soaring off into the stratosphere. It’s also a tough track to follow but clearly Somali Yacht Club were on a creative high here as Echo of Direction is another stunner. A track that moves at a methodical pace, seemingly wandering without purpose, before transforming into something else completely. Something that will stop most listeners in their tracks because of the sheer atmospheric grandeur of it.

Take a breath, it’s needed. Although the animated and progressive hit of Gold will still challenge. It’s also the shortest track on the album and is a precursor to the longest, Momentum. A finale that passes the 12-minute mark and might very well be Somali Yacht Club’s most glorious moment.

A track that is darker than anything else heard so far but is also the most eclectic. At times, blistering but with a lethargy that does mental draining gymnastics. You’re constantly trying to piece together the puzzle that is this track and by the end, you’ll probably still be missing a few pieces. Only through multiple listens, something you’ll want to do anyway, does the picture becomes clear and what a thing of beauty it is.

Somali Yacht Club – The Space Full Track Listing:

1. Silver
2. Pulsar
3. Obscurum
4. Echo of Direction
5. Gold
6. Momentum

Links

Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | Season of Mist