After the release of his last album Demian Castellanos, main man of The Oscillation, hit something of a creative low. He wondered if he would record again after the exorcising of dark emotions. Relocating from the city to a more bucolic backdrop he found himself wanting to make music that would invoke positivity for the listener, and indeed himself. The Oscillation certainly channel their influences in the music, and my interest was heightened being a fan of the likes of Spiritualized (not listed as an influence I might add), Spaceman 3, My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins and early Creation records. Entitled The Start Of The End, this new record is a trip back in time yet it sounds modern and fresh.
Opener ‘War On The Mind’ blazes with scuzzy guitars like a fired up Jesus and Mary Chain. The wailing saxophone that blasts in the chorus is an undeniable little earworm. Demian’s vocals are reverbed to the point of oblivion as the track teleports you to a 90s indie club. ‘Faraway’ gets into your bloodstream with a pumping groove with a choppy beat from drummer Tim Weller, while all manner of psychedelic sounds are triggered with every snap of the snare. Takes me back to the halcyon days of Screamadelica-era Primal Scream.
Title track ‘The Start Of The End’ is a very welcome comedown after the raved up dance vibes of ‘Faraway’. This song is an absolute beauty with lovely clean guitars performing the aural equivalent of a brain massage. With a plethora of those shimmering sounds that Spiritualized used a lot on Electric Mainline, this track really does have a feelgood vibe. As the song winds to a close the guitars are layered to almost infinite levels with little dainty melodies springing up all over the place.
‘The Eternal’ modernises Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ beat and replaces any thunderous guitars with a myriad of psychedelic guitars and synths. Demian sounds joyously wasted as he randomly interjects with virtually indecipherable lyrics. The track builds up to a tumultuous finale without you really noticing. Then ‘Body Electric’ drives the car right off the road with a wired bass synth line while a host of spooky noises sweep through your head. Demian’s vocals are buried in the mix but if anything, I found this track lacked a little cohesion.
The aptly named ‘Mantra’ bristles with a krautrock style two note bass line while an entire cosmos of kooky noises drop from the sky creating quite a trippy dirge. Final song ‘Sovereign’ has plenty of time to get into the groove over an expansive 12 minutes. Mercifully taking the easy approach it slides along on beautiful shimmering guitars and masses of psychedelic swooshes. Demian intones with a blissed-out mantra floating along over the soothing wondrous atmospherics. It’s the perfect soundtrack for an aurora borealis display.
Encouraged by the joyous lead track ‘The Start Of The End’ this is my first foray into the sounds of The Oscillation. With the list of influences striking my pleasure buttons it seemed an essential album for me to listen to. Demian’s intent when creating this record was to be positive and uplifting and he has certainly achieved that as the sounds on the album can lift you up on a dull day. It’s almost as if I have found a little solace in coming across an album that I want Spiritualized to make. If you yearn for blissed out sounds, psychedelic guitar tones and trippy head music, then this is the album for you.
