I recently went to see Earthside and SOM live in Cleveland. SOM has a new album called Let The Light In releasing on March 14th through Pelagic Records, and so I’d been listening to it for some weeks before the show. It was so cool to hear the studio and live versions so close together.
I’d actually stumbled across SOM in 2023 with their Faith EP, a set of great Depeche Mode covers. I was quite impressed with the craftmanship there. The current lineup includes Will Benoit on vocals, bass, guitar, and electronics; Justin Forrest on drums and bass; Mike Repasch-Nieves on guitar and piano; and Joel Reynolds on guitar and synth.
SOM plays a very interesting mix of sounds. They call the style on this new album “doom pop”, which might not tell the whole tale. The music here is certainly heavy with elongated riffs, like in doom metal, but also catchy and light and breezy, like in pop. You’ll hear heavy guitars, but also shoegaze and alternative distortion, and some of the songs are more abstract than you might expect. I should also point out the excellent dynamic drumming, which was also fun to see live.
There’s just something about the feeling of a massive wall of riffs colliding with ethereal vocals. The contrasts are potent and very satisfying. I’ll also say that there are some incredibly catchy hooks on this album, and I love how the band injects electronic accents and vocal rhythms that take a good song and make it a great one.
The appropriately named Let The Light In has eight tracks and is quite consistent. The first half has “Don’t Look Back”, a solid opener with lots of ambience; the title track, even better with its haunting sound and purposeful riffs; and then my favorite on the album, “Chemicals”. This song has multiple layers of accents and melodies, starting at first with a hazy riff and proceeding through a foggy transition into a climax with subtle vocal rhythms that will worm themselves into your brain. The first half ends with “The Place That I Belong”, another great song with a dark edge and an addictive last few minutes.
The second half of the record is just as good. “Give Blood” is misty and effervescent, though I’ll admit that’s my least favorite on the album. Then comes the one-two punch of “Nightmares” and “Under Streetlights”, two more favorites. The former has a sinister edge with a nice, chugging atmosphere; I love the reeling guitar work and surprisingly bright chorus. The latter is quite light and airy, but has meat to it in how expressive the guitar phrasing is, almost sounding somewhat 90s alternative in tone. I really like that one.
The closer is “The Light” and is the longest on the album. For the first half, it is rather reserved, filtering and flitting about in pleasant waves of sunlight; the second half of it is heavier but with an echoing void of vocal rhythms that are simultaneously shadowy and encouraging. I love how the album ends with a reverberating aura, like the last rays of sun disappearing beyond the horizon.
“Let the Light In” is a beautiful and atmospheric record. SOM has a knack for contrast and lumbering riffs, and I can’t stop listening. I think fans of doom, pop, rock, and metal can all find something to love here.
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