Album Review: Somalgia – Inverted World (Repose Records)

On ‘Inverted World’, Somalgia present a psychedelic interpretation of a dystopian reality set in a world not unlike our own. The album covers an eclectic range of influences & genres from black metal, trip-hop and folk to progressive & psychedelic rock.

Lyrically, ‘Inverted World’ follows a young man’s journey through an awakening in which he struggles to come to terms with the nature of reality, falls down endless conspiracy rabbit holes, battles addiction, consumerism & technology overload and ultimately understands what it means to be an outsider in a backwards world.

Tom Collins & Ryan Stevenson (Zopp, Rulum) are the living men that created the album. Tom states:

Somalgia was initially a solo project of mine that I’d been working on since 2018, Ryan came into the fold in late 2020 when I asked him to mix the album. He ended up taking 6 months to completely rework the album into what you hear today.

Ryan adds:

Tom and I both share a love for many different artists and find the idea of genre boring today, so we naturally threw all sorts into the final mix from the beginning of the process. This meant that I had plenty of artistic freedom when it came to producing and helping with the song writing; by adding mellotrons, 808 beats, guitar solos and much more, we ended up crafting an album that sounds truly post-genre.

Inverted World will be released on the 12th December 221 via Repose Records.

A mind-bending release, Somalgia are one of those indefinable bands, capable of challenging perceptions of what music should and could sound like. Across 7 tracks, they take the listener deep into the rabbit hole and display wackier and weirder wonders that Lewis Carrol could ever have thought up.

One minute you’ll be swaying and shaking to the groovy psychedelia, then you’ll be tempted to limber up those neck muscles and really get your dancing shoes on. It can be heavy, it can be warped, it can be a lot of fun, it can be downright baffling but most of all, it is always really strange.

The mix of short bursts of madness and longer, drawn out opulence creates extravagant imagery. Especially when combined with the story Somalgia are telling.

Talking of which, the story telling is interesting. The lyrical content obviously deals with a lot of the detail but musically, the sense of being overwhelmed and lost in a haze is clear. You’ll have your attention held even if making sense of Inverted World and Somalgia isn’t so easy.

We like to be challenged though, don’t we?

Somalgia – Inverted World Full Track Listing:

1. God is Dead
2. Recalcitrant
3. Wonderland
4. Consumer
5. The March of Tyranny
6. Dear Rulers
7. Final Utterance

Links

Bandcamp | Instagram | Repose Records