Third

Much like the early incarnation of Hawkwind, Aqua Nebula Oscillator is a seven-piece band specializing in psychedelic space-rock that’s riddled with mysterious occult imagery. The group started as a French four-piece experimental band that included cult DJ and filmmaker Shazzula Vultura; now it's a septet. Aqua Nebula Oscillator's third album plays with a more linear foundation, with a tendency to delve deep into astral realms. The opening tune, "Riot," is a harrowing instrumental that sounds like a missing song from a Dario Argento horror movie soundtrack. “Turn On” blasts scuzzy guitar distortion and blown-out vocals that come together to create the kind of hard-driving acid-rock that begs for Stacia Blake to come out of retirement and dance onstage for the band’s over-the-top live engagements. “Final Solution” could be a Pere Ubu tribute song, while the Eastern drones of “Kill Yourself” play with all the darker “bad trip” trappings of late-'60s ballroom-era rock ‘n’ roll. Anyone with records by Chrome or Leather Nun will find a slight familiarity in the static-textured, hard-throttled “Lucifer.”