Somali Yacht Club (photo: May Lee)
With the horrors occurring in Ukraine amid Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s invasion of the country, the Big Takeover has the distinct honor today of exclusively debuting a musical ray of hope originating from one of the best bands Ukraine has to offer: psychedelic/shoegaze ensemble Somali Yacht Club.
The trio’s new song, “Pulsar,” is a stunning, nine-minute space exploration whose launchpad is the band’s upcoming album, The Space. The record is due April 22.
The post/rock-meets-metal album, recorded throughout 2021 at Jenny Records near Lviv — the biggest city in western Ukraine — is the final part in a trilogy that also includes previous releases The Sun and The Sea. As for the band’s unusual name, it references “real-life pirates who attack vessels off the Somalian coast and the peaceful leisure of those with time to kill and money to burn,” according to Somali Yacht Club’s Bandcamp page.
For obvious reasons, the Big Takeover was not able to contact Somali Yacht Club to discuss the six-song effort, due on Season of Mist, but here is what the band said in a recent press release:
“It’s a bit hard to tell a real story in our music because, let’s be honest — it’s still more instrumental-focused,” they said. “The Space is very loosely connected to a single concept as it has even more abstract and personal lyrical themes. Also, the song ‘Pulsar’ was the first written and named song for this album, so it set a path for the title.”
Listen to the epic journey that is “Pulsar” through this visualizer:
On Friday, the band posted this message on their Facebook profile regarding the situation in their homeland:
“Hi! Many of you asked us if we are in the safe place. We are deeply touched and thankful for all your support these days, really. Thank you!
“But up to this day our hometown Lviv was a relatively safe harbor, but today first missiles hit it too. There is no safe place in our country anymore, and it seems that places beyond our country are likely to become unsafe too. However any of that wouldn’t compare to the horror that is happening right now in the city of Mariupol.
“We decided that we are going to donate all profits made in 2022 (till the end of the year) to various charities to help Ukraine and Ukrainians now.”
For more on Somali Yacht Club, go here:
Additional reporting by Kurt Orzeck.
