Review: The Oscillation - Beyond The Mirror

The Oscillation have long been regarded as one of the foremost purveyors of psych/neo-psych and, over the course of three albums ('Out Of Phase', 'Veils' and 'From Tomorrow'),their reputation for producing crystalline kaleidoscopes of sound has grown and grown. earlier this year main man Demian Castellanos enhanced his own reputation with his solo outing 'The Kyvu Tapes Vol.1 (1990-1998)', reviewed on these very pages. 'Beyond The Mirror' is an illuminating collection of B-sides and unreleased tracks that have either been tucked away on the flip side of singles or, for some reason, have yet to see the light of day.

'Braindrainer' (originally on 2012's "Fall" E.P.) is a groove driven instrumental number with an insistent bass line over which some glorious washes of sound give it a psychedelic, spacey feel. It motors along and is nigh on impossible not to nod your head; a cracking start to any album. 'Waste The Day' was the B-side to the 'No Place To Go' single of 2012 and is, again, another groove laden track but this time is graced by Castellanos' muted, almost dreampop, vocals backed with some spacey effects and a rock solid rhythm section. At times the soaring guitar threatens to engulf the vocals but are held back with some restraint. 'Kissing The Sun' from the 2013 'Travel Expop Series #2' sees the band heading off into kosmische territory with a motorik rhythm that doesn't quit and synth lines and guitar combining to give a spacey vibe to proceedings. It is the unreleased tracks that provide real interest to this collection; 'The Mirror Pool', for example, which starts like a John Carpenter soundtrack a la Umberto, all drone and eighties synths. Once again it is graced by the vocals of Castellanos which are more spoken than sung and raise the inherent feeling of foreboding and suspense. It signals a totally different modus operandi for the band (and one that I personally think bears some future experimentation). 'Endless Oblivion' is another unreleased number and is one of the heavier numbers on the album. Some fab fuzz guitar and a relentless drum beat reminiscent of The Jesus And Mary Chain all accompanied by some swathes of synth and spacey swirls and swoops. As the track progresses the guitars become more insistent and overtly psych - fantastic stuff! The unreleased 'Crystalline Tears' sees the band veering into more unknown territory, this time a synth driven excursion into Tangerine Dream-like ambience; blissful and beautiful. 'Insect Attention', originally on the "Travel Expop Series #2" of 2013, is the soundtrack to a nightmare (and I mean that in a good way); whispered, echoey vocals over dissonent synths and unsettling effects all underpinned by a sub-motorik beat. The previously unreleased 'The Detour' closes proceedings in a dreamy haze of dreampop that shimmers and shines and gradually builds into psych based shoegaze.

'Beyond The Mirror' gives us a glimpse of a band who are unfettered by stylistic constraints and are willing to experiment and let their creativity run riot; the breadth of styles on the album is breathtaking with every track showing a different facet to the group. There are lots of bands out there who would give their eyeteeth for any of the tracks on this record, a collection of B-sides and unreleased material, and I think that reflects the artistry and ingenuity of the band. This is a fascinating collection of sounds from a band at the top of their game....pretty essential listening!

'Beyond The Mirror' is released on All Time Low Productions and is available, on vinyl and download, from the band's Bandcamp page.