LOGICAL CRASH – OASIS
Recommendation: ☹
LOGICAL CRASH is a project of Californian artist Dave Space, who is also the man behind Bonus Fruit and is a significant contributor to Pizza Beast.1 OASIS is twelve songs in twenty-six minutes, and it was originally released in August 2016 on the Clear Visions label. As with the rest of the Clear Visions albums, OASIS was a part of the short-lived movement of “metrosong”, a style of modern cyberpunk music that’s related to vaporwave. The movement took inspiration from corporate aesthetic (similar to Far Side Virtual by James Ferraro) in a squeaky-clean aesthetic and concept albums that focused on products and business services. The music was as non-offensive as possible, even bland, which served as a meta-commentary on corporate music production. Pretty nifty, and occasionally fascinating.
Not much information could be found on OASIS upon researching for this article. From what I can tell, the album is either sample curation or entirely original material – perhaps some combination of both. Tracks are generally between two and three minutes in length, although several run for less than two minutes. Tracks feature that crystal-clear metrosong ambiance but also utilize dubstep and compressed trap beats, which contrasts with the distinctly corporate feel of Clear Visions and metrosong at-large. Some tracks continue on a single theme for upwards of three minutes, whereas others (such as the short closer “The Afterlife”) feel as if they could have been extended further. That could be an experiment with song lengths and structures, but given the rest of the metrosong aesthetic present, instead it comes across as an unfinished demo. The 41-second piano ambiance of “Bio-Neon Protection” is one such example: on it’s own, it’s a gorgeous pseudo-signalwave track, but next to the hip-hop feel of “Fresh Food & Divine Living”, the result is less cohesive than likely imagined.
Tracklist
1. The Age of Simplicity #5 – (1:07)
2. Bio-Neon Protection – (0:41)
3. Fresh Food & Divine Living – (2:01)
4. Behind the Cinematic Lens – (2:41)
5. The Truman World – (2:40)
6. iMAX Activation – (2:04)
7. Holographic Universe – (1:56)
8. Escaping the OASIS – (1:34)
9. Silencia – (3:37)
10. Aftermath – (3:27)
11. Blue Room – (2:47)
12. The Afterlife – (1:26)
1Formerly known as Pizzabox Society.