Vocals! Vocals! Vocals! The new release from Oceanside85 is a wild ride through some pretty heavy dark synth and, my Goddess, those vocals of hers have NEVER sounded better. Yes, you read that correctly: Oceanside85 goes dark synth with her latest release: Absolution.
This is also a CHARGED-UP album of fight anthems and crystalized emotions. If anyone is surprised by this description of her new work then, obviously, you haven’t been listening enough to this creative vixen’s synthwave releases.
Absolution is a shimmering hotbed of 5 NEW tracks (and one WICKED remix by Ethereal Delusions) that are all itching for a fight. Your ears, after putting this on repeat like I did, will burn when it is over. And, soon enough, that burning sensation will become an ADDICTION.
Progressive and stylistically in your face, the songs included here work in unison to create an onslaught that is not unlike an audible FULL FORCE FIVE attack. {googleads}
It begins with the EXPRESSIVE electronic charge of “Take My Breath”, in which Oceanside85 sings of her desire “to burn my brightest” and “show my fire”; you know there is going to be a rage here. Others don’t want this, but she does and so she pushes back. . .
. . . and the result is this incredible beginning, in which her intense vocals – sounding fully in command of the message here – come across like a raging mix of the glittery goth of Shirley Manson and the pop appeal of Pink.
The fight for a separate identity away from outside forces continues on “Devour”, the second track. This is an energetic song that incorporates much of the material on Absolution: get up and get it yourself if you REALLY want it. It comes across as dark, yet there is a hope here.
Complete with a cemetery-set video directed by Kelvin Mccabe, this song is a hard-hitting slice of sonic mischievousness that is just this side of brutal. The vocals, once again taking charge, practically snarl through the speakers as a slow lead-in opens wide to crush our ears.
Then, with a wink and a nudge to John Carpenter, “They Live” spins some more truth our way. Because, in this day and age, the truth is that all of us are engaged in a fight of some sort and, according to the whole of Absolution, this producer – especially when it comes to the fight for empowerment – has our back: ALL of us.
With “Mirrors”, Oceanside85 produces a deceitfully polite-sounding pop song. The lyrics are vicious, but, damn, the soaring synths here just make me want to shut off the outside world and dance, dance, dance. The sound of the drum pads! And when she hits the high notes, there’s few who will stop my desire to spin beneath the mirror disco ball. This track is what would happen if Yo Yo Rodeo went synthwave for an afternoon. Oowah oowah is my disco call, MCA for sure! Get those neon lights flashing NOW!
But mood trumps that maniac vibe here.
Striking fear and dance moves seems to be Oceanside85’s strength as “Ghosts” rolls out. She throws everything into the mix. It is her vocals; however, which take center stage. And by shredding any expectations of tropicwave melodies, she delivers a release that dares to challenge not only herself but the listener, too. The light may be dying when you get to the spectral occasion of “Ghost” but that definitely doesn’t mean the fight is over. {googleads}
Absolution, in all its sparkling filth and fury, makes for one hell of a late-night listen and just wait until you hear what Ethereal Delusions does with his mix of “Mirrors”, a perfect nightcap for this release. And, as your Absolution arrives on Halloween this year, this progressive-sounding release DEFINITELY makes for an appropriately-timed release date.
With Absolution, the GLITCH is back!
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