Oh Hiroshima’s Oscillation is a monument of sombre, often muted but suspenseful post-rock. Between it’s hushed vocals, sparse melodies and gritty bass tones, it breathes with melancholic tension, crafting an intricate emotive tone. Oscillation is the Swedish band’s third full length project, a long awaited follow up to their 2015 release In Silence We Yearn.
The work has a suspenseful character, using the instrumentation in a variety of arrangements and techniques to harbour such effect as stark esoteric, drum-work, reaches an apex in crashing symbols. Meanwhile, guitar motifs move from lonely, mournful notes to melodies that resemble a North-African and Arabic style in tracks such as ‘A Handful of Dust’ and ‘Darkroom Aesthetics’. Elements of synth and double bass work provide an undercurrent that builds the uneasy tone, coalescing the melody and rhythm. The theme of growing suspense allows Oh Hiroshima to change the feel of a song instinctively, as in ‘Moderate Spectre’, where a marching low tom drum beat and wistful guitar are met with double bass that leads an emerging, purposeful feel to the track, defined by a direct growling bassline augmented by an urgent riff.
The album has a moody, emotive air, building it with stark tones in both rhythm and melody, employing a structure that hits warm, moving crescendos by weaving in subtle string and synth elements that not only gather tension, but harmonise the disparate pieces of rhythm and drums, reaching new cathartic highs. Oh Hiroshima have crafted an excellent, captivating atmospheric piece that exudes a complex emotional feeling.
Oscillation is out now and can be purchased here.
Words: Omur Sowar
