An Adelaide psych-rock band who have been moulded like Tame Impala, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets and King Gizzard, Somnium's latest offering, 'Isolation Island', is a trippy, munted ride through delirious psychedelic modulations.
Swirly, laidback prog grooves are offset by nasally Aussie vocals before sublime psych breakdowns enter the picture as gorgeous, spacious guitar noodling and loopy, free-form, lush drumming power the song's beat into a hazy, floating void of a gooey-brain-meltdown deliciousness."It's a song of contrasting physical and mental worlds," begins band member James Dawes. "The clashing of the external versus the internal. And when bliss becomes suspicious, solitude becomes insidious.
"I'd say musically it's an indie rock song as if Jimi Hendrix meets Mac DeMarco and Unknown Mortal Orchestra.
"The song is melodic and wordy, and the chord progressions and notes flow into each lyric with a certain feeling of what is encapsulated.
"The poem was written first when stuck on the island and the music just weaved it's way perfectly to match. The drums are simple to let the story take focus."
Ahead of the song's release tomorrow (14 October), scenestr is amped to premiere the music video for 'Isolation Island' today. Enjoy.
The video was produced by Bryce Kraehenbuehl from Two Up Films and features the band stuck on an island with plenty of food and water but zero entertainment.
'Isolation Island' is the lead single of Somnium's sophomore album 'To Be Is To Be Perceived' that's due 18 November 18.
"The track was written by James when stuck on a beautiful Greek island in a faraway village with no transport and no way of escaping the Mediterranean beach," adds the band.
"What was paradise turned into a mental asylum as his travels got stagnant.
"When he arrived back home and we were workshopping the song, COVID hit us and we were writing the song whilst in isolation so it was perfect alignment."
Somnium play Enigma Bar (Adelaide) 15 October and Sky City District Bar Adelaide Casino 21 October.
