Written By: Chris Parsons
February 2013’s release from Deep Space— “Cosmic Waves”– should be noted as a highlight for the month, as well as for the band’s career as they’ve been gradually emerging within the buzzing world of Austin, Texas’ psychedelic music scene, and this debut studio EP pushes them even further, recently having the honor of opening for the likes of Psychic Ills, Ringo Deathstarr, and Holy Wave…all on the same billing! Now, you might think that with Texas’ history of high velocity psychedelic acts (such as The 13th Floor Elevators, Golden Dawn, Bubble Puppy, not to mention the whole, contemporary Austin Psych Fest scene/community) it’d be tough to make a significant impact or strive to make your sound original enough to stand out and grab everyone’s attention. But Deep Space does just that, establishing themselves as a heady, wall-of-sound quintet with a hankering for surf-groovy, astronaut rock. These dudes aren’t out to cop anyone’s psyche style but rather, any associations that come to mind seem totally derivative and second-nature, probably slipping out of their own mind-manifesting and reverberating music collections. If anything, their total sound is ultimately a tribute to the rich culture of Texas’ abundant music scene, then and now, and even draws allusions to the commonplace mythos of NASA’s space center.
The 4-track “Cosmic Waves” EP is a great introduction to Deep Space‘s sound, exhibiting a strong magnetism for slow-burner grooves, and heavy psych drone jams in the vein of blending layered, krautrock-style earworm hooks and subtle ragas. A big staple of the warm and full sound on this record is definitely the two guitarists’ use of 12-string axes, replicating a similar sound to dual sitars. The reverb-drenched vocals also infuse a heady, cavernous effect into the larger-than-life rock as the drummer and bassist tend to lock into a mutual groove that is both deliberately paced, yet propulsive, sending out gripping vibrations that’ll have your spine snaking in a funk. To close out the album, we’re even graced with a powerhouse live recording of “Strawberry” at Hotel Vegas, as if Deep Space had something to prove before their introduction was through. This intimate EP captures every angle of this band of adaptive up-and-comers, and what’s more, it appears that they personally tended to each aspect of producing, recording, mixing, and mastering to ensure that their living sound and energy was properly relayed to their audience, down to the very frequencies of their intricate and pulsating sound.
TPR-Mag.com 