When enveloped in water, everything seems to slow down, the world seems to fall away, and you’re left with a foreign, yet familiar landscape. As Swimming Bell, Katie Schottland’s latest EP, Somnia, employs these themes, navigating the currents from within, examining her world from this unique vantage point. She says, “I wanted this EP to feel like sinking into water, where everything is softened and suspended.” The music comes through a layer of gauze, clear but not quite perfectly defined. There’s a sense of tones being transformed by the fluid surrounding them.
The first keyboard notes and dream-laden vocals of Found It at the Bottom of the Ocean ripple from under the waves. The instruments and multi-tracked vocals emerge from the water. Even the slide guitar takes on a hazy tone, establishing that this is an experience in hearing music from an entirely new perspective. Instruments dance through the frame, reminiscent of the noises one hears below the waves.
The heat of the moment seems to take over on I’m Always Down as Schottland sings, “She’s always down/ She’s always around/ But she can’t be found.” Examining a relationship that is not necessarily what it appeared to be is reflected in the guitar’s initial bounciness, but a feeling of tiredness eventually prevails.
A sense of wistfulness develops on Meet My Shadow, dominated by slide guitar framed against gliding keys. Schottland expresses a sense of insecurity as she sings, “I don’t want to meet my hero/ Because I can never be a hero.” That sense of self-doubt haunts the track, while a trumpet sound adds a sense of melancholy.
Memory is a funny thing, and 95 At Night is laden with memories about what was, both people and places; the slide guitar expressing a sense of longing as the song unfolds, “Old man, I’m an old man/ Sittin’ in my truck by the sea/ Old friends, miss my old friends/ Been too long since they could count on me.” From her location on the west coast, Schottland remembers the sights and sounds that have started to fade from view. It’s a telling moment where who she was and who she is now seem to confront each other.
Katie Schottland has created something quite magical. While Somnia is just five songs, the moments, the magic, and the memories reveal a depth to her music that will draw you back for repeated listenings.
Somnia (May 16th, 2025) Perpetual Doom
Bandcamp: https://perpetualdoom.bandcamp.com/album/somnia
You can also hear Swimming Bell on the latest KLOF Mixtape No. 46 here.
