INVERTED WORLD

[Originally published at The Progressive Aspect]

Black Metal. What do those words conjure in your mind? Even though I know and like some black metal that does not fit this stereotype, as soon as I see or hear a band described as black meatal I think of lo-fi one-man-bedroom- bands of dubious talent. Sometimes the lo-fi nature of the recording seems to me as much an excuse to hide a lack of musicianship or production skills, as an aesthetic choice. I have listened to far more black metal albums I've endured than enjoyed, and I admit a certain degree of reluctance to take on such albums for review. Somalgia is (or, at least, was) ostensibly a black metal band. Looking back at the Bandcamp page for the record label that Somalgia's debut album, Inverted World, is released on, it would appear that their first label release (at least, on Bandcamp) was a spit between Somalgia and Peasant. I've not (yet) listened to that, but it's cover art is definitely typical of black metal; demonic and monochrome. It doesn't draw me in, and the only reason I'm likely to listen to it is because I've now listened to and love Inverted World. But just take a look at the cover art of Inverted World! That's about as far from black metal as it's possible to be, right? Talk about an inverted world! And the music is just as colourful and creative. It's a whole heap of fun to listen to, which is not how I'd normally describe listening to black metal (even the stuff I like).

Now, I can't claim to know just what Somalgia actually means. It might not mean anything, chosen as a band name simply because it sounds kind of cool. The press kit I received certainly gives no indication. But given the nature of this album, I can't help but take a guess at what Somalgia might be. If nostalgia is a form of home sickness, where the longing for the past comes from the Greek nostos (return home) and algos (pain), then I like to assume that the 'pain' of Somalgia comes from the Soma of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Given that those taking Soma are unlikely to experience any Somalgia, one can surmise that, rather, Somalgia occurs when you come off the drug. An experience akin to taking the red pill in The Matrix (as opposed to the blue pill that Soma effectively is). The red pill frees its taker from the manufactured utopian world, and reveals the reality. But escaping into the real world is harsh and difficult, and the result is Somalgia. Huxley called Brave New World a negative utopia, and Somalgia is the inevitable dystopian 'pain' one experiences upon becoming aware of how inverted the world is. Realisation of the inversion leads to alienation and confusion ' and the 'post-genre music' of Somalgia, as they describe themselves on Bandcamp, portrays this wonderfully.

I say they, because even if Somalgia did begin as a one-man-band (possibly in his bedroom, but that's by the by), it now has two members. The founding member is Tom Collins, which is perhaps a name not many will be familiar with. But joining him on Inverted World is a name that many will be far more familiar with, and that's Ryan Stevenson (of Zopp). Now I don't want to detract from Tom, but having Ryan's name attached to Somalgia will surely pull in a greater audience - including a fair few who might otherwise run away screaming from anything vaguely resembling black metal. There's no getting away from the fact that black metal plays a part in Inverted World, but it is only a part, and it's as subverted as everything else. Nothing is as it seems. The band states that, 'Lyrically, Inverted World follows a young man's journey through an awakening process in which he struggles to come to terms with the nature of reality, falls down endless conspiracy rabbit holes, battles addiction, consumerism and technology overload and ultimately understands what it means to be an outsider in a backwards world.' The music follows that slightly schizophrenic and tortured path to discovery, taking in the tropes of multiple genres along the way, but often not in a conventional or expected manner. (Such is the nature of the blue pill.) So, sure there is some black metal, if you want to call it that, but also electronica, trip hop and psychedelia. (Pills and psychedelia go hand in hand, right?)

It's also bonkers. The musical curveballs and odd directions taken by Somalgia remind me often of French avant garde metal acts like Creature and Igorrr ' while never actually sounding like either. But they all seem to share a love of exploring and subverting the norms of metal, and creating new ways of looking at things (or hearing them, I guess). And as well as it works for Creature and Igorrr, Somalgia take it to the next level, simply because Inverted World is a concept album about someone coming to grips with looking at what was assumed to be normal in a new light. The protagonist lives the music, and we get to live it vicariously through him. If I were to compare Somalgia to a black metal band at all, and it's a stretch, I guess it would be Borknagar, and their flirtations with the avant garde. For sure, Somalgia can pull out some anthemic earworms just as well as the Norwegian big guns. The March of Tyranny is simply irresistible, and I find myself singing the refrain to myself all the time. It might have come late in the year, but it's easily one of my favourite songs from 2021. It's the deserved centrepiece of Inverted World, and likely to be the track most shared from the album by those seeking to introduce it to their friends, as it has a greater air of accessibility that most of the other tracks - and did I mention just how damn catchy it is?

The album concludes with Final Utterance, which is quite possibly the heaviest song on the album, lyrically, but delivered in a delicate and beautiful manner. It's a perfect climactic moment, delivered fabulously. The use of a guest vocalist, Kat Elizabeth, only augments this already strong piece. In the last minute it crescendos stirringly, before dropping away in an impactful manner. The album is over, and all too soon. At just over half-an-hour, this is a short burst of energy that leaves me wanting more. Inverted World is an incredible debut album, and if the band remain as this duo, I imagine future releases will prove just as entertaining and enjoyable, as Tom and Ryan clearly each have a sense of experimentation and invention that bounces off each other in tangents that may otherwise not have been explored. Somalgia may have begun as black metal, but they are so much more now, and who knows just where they will take their sound. Whoever that is, I will eagerly be following them there'.

Records like this one are why I'm glad I decided to lump music released in December 2021 with 2022 for my year-end list-making purposes. I'm often in a bit of a rush getting my draft lists off to my editors, and trying to find new music in the midst of that is a fool's errand. Somalgia's debut album?Inverted World? was released in mid-December, and it's a fantastic blend of genres, including progressive rock, black metal, trip-hop, and psychedelia.

Somalgia is an English duo who go so far as to label their music "post-genre." It's certainly a diverse release, especially as far as progressive rock and progressive metal go; but they're not doing the stereotype of pretentious prog-rockers any favors with this sort of posturing. The lyrics are also a bit 14-year-old-who-just-saw-The-Matrix-and-is-now-a-conspiracy-theorist for my taste. The band has used the NPC wojak meme multiple times on their Instagram, as well as engaging in some 5G conspiracy. I get the feeling it would likely be unproductive for me to engage in political discussions with whomever wrote the lyrics.

Political gripes aside, Inverted World has a lot of fantastic music on it; and it's situations like this one where I'm glad I'm good at just tuning words out most of the time.

"God Is Dead" opens the album with a gentle, plonking synthesizer pattern alongside a building black metal guitar line. The eventual main theme is quite melodic, and I like the juxtaposition of the synth lines against some technical, jazzy drumming (provided by Ryan Stevenson of the Canterbury act Zopp). It's a to-the-point song which acts as a mission statement, laying out the band's musical inclinations. Next, "Recalcitrant" opens with some of the harshest music on the album. The vocals are delivered in a black metal snarl, and the guitars and synthesizers growl right alongside the vocal. There's a passage of martial marching music paired with nonsense syllables which is strongly evocative of Magma, especially Theusz Hamtaahk.

In contrast to the aggression of the first two songs, "Wonderland" has a gentle, dreamy opening. A fuzzy guitar arpeggio supports a piercing, beautiful lead passage as percussion slowly builds. Urgency does come to the music eventually, with distorted, wah-wahed guitar providing a hint of funky energy. By this song's midpoint it has fully morphed into a metal piece, and the haunting keyboard tones provide a wonderful atmosphere.

"Consumer" is the shortest song on the album, and it has some of the most obvious electronic influences. The computerized percussion, processed vocals, and fuzzy bass are all reminiscent of Porcupine Tree. This is the trip-hoppiest song on the record. The vocal performance is strong, especially the parts without audio effects on them.

Weird, buzzy guitars kick off "The March of Tyranny" before blasting off into cosmic, black-tinged metal. This opening passage is propulsive and soaring, underpinned by a buoyant organ. The verses are more grounded, but no less enjoyable. Harsh vocals against relatively clean music can be a bit of a gamble, but Somalgia does it well here. Unfortunately, this song also dabbles in some unignorable COVID conspiracy, which is a pretty unfortunate thing to include on what is?in purely musical terms?a fantastic song and my favorite on the album.

"Dear Rulers" starts with slow-moving, liquid guitars and gentle vocals. The particular guitar tone reminds me a lot of Alex Lifeson's clean sounds. The first two-and-a-half minutes or so are melodic and smooth, and that's followed by a doom-laden synth solo which I'm quite fond of. The song's last two minutes are scouring, trudging black metal augmented with all kinds of sci-fi keyboard effects.

Inverted World closes on "Final Utterance". The opening is folky, full of acoustic guitar and restrained percussion. A guest vocalist is brought in here, and she gives a great performance. Despite enjoying her voice, this is probably my least-favorite song on the album. For a band which so openly prides itself on its strangeness, this is a pretty straightforward cut. I love the climax of this song, but not much stands out about the build leading up to that high point.

Somalgia's debut album is quite a strong bit of music. I think their conspiratorial mindset is wrong-headed, and that's on top of the general handicap of openly-political music often suffering from ham-fistedness. Taking all that into account, though, I can't deny that this duo knows how to write diverse, exciting music.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2022/03/29/album-review-somalgia-inverted-world/