2025 introduced me to /somnolence./, an enigmatic act whose previous EP, Embrace The Void, showed us “what it is to be human.”
By Graeme Smith
Now, /somnolence./ have released their latest collection, No Love Made // No Love Lost. From a tinkling opening into a heavy rock climax, Polarize introduces its emotionally weighty world. Razor sharp lyrics leave us in no doubt of the story of the EP, one full of loss, grief, anger, and sadness.
/somnolence./ tempers the melancholy of the narrative with a bright, cinematic instrumentals that are oddly life-affirming given the lyrical content. The result is a dissonance that works, making us feel just as lost as the artist must have felt while penning the lyrics.
Those lyrics touch on themes of attachment, doctrine, and profanity, all told through mythical and religious imagery. There’s a sense of a personal journey told through a frame of something much bigger than the self. It’s disorientating, but in a very intentional way.
Pop meets theatrical prog rock and elements of J-rock and screamo in the instrumentals, particularly the ponderous, meandering I Don’t Live Anywhere which proves an early highlight due to its compositional complexity.
Confines, by contrast, begins soft and piano-led, delving deeper into the introspection. “All these years that I spent washing the blood from my hands,” feels a particularly poignant line given the themes, mythology, and imagery on display across the EP.
I Never Expected to Burn to Ashes in this Cold and Unfamiliar World is /somnolence./ at their heaviest with growling vocals and monster riffs. It’s the EP’s most cathartic moment, tossing aside the delicate introspection for pure all-engulfing fire. Its rawness makes it another highlight.
Faith in Poison is a hypnotic waltz that drives at how devotion can be deadly, using visceral imagery to emphasise its point. Title track No Love Made // No Love Lost closes the EP as it began. Tinkling interludes tee up frenetic flourishes.
This EP is a bold next step for /somnolence./ It doesn’t hold back in term of lyrical content and wild instrumental contrasts. It all adds up to a compelling listen that manages to transcend a sense of self-pity. If you like emotional hard rock, get it on your rotation.
You can keep up to date with all things /somnolence./ by following them on YouTube, Facebook, Bandcamp, Instagram, and X.
No Love Made // No Love Lost is set for release 22 January 2026.
