8/10

Across his latest album 'The Wild Side', SnakeOil, the project of musician Nick Cutrer, moves through psychedelic rock, garage, folk and alternative influences with a deliberately fluid sense of identity. The songs differ in shape and mood, but they are held together by a recurring fascination with perception, purpose and the possibility that reality might look different depending on where you stand.

Throughout its runtime, he draws openly from the expansive album-making traditions of The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Pixies, but 'The Wild Side' is at its most interesting when those influences become part of a broader atmosphere. Warm production, surrealist songwriting and a willingness to let each track find its own character give the record a real sense of discovery.

There's an emphasis on warmth, texture and immediacy here, helping the psychedelic elements feel tactile at every turn. The production also gives the melodies room to glow while preserving enough grit to keep the record grounded in its aesthetic.

It's a balance that remains crucial because 'The Wild Side' could easily have disappeared into its own atmosphere. Instead, its strongest quality is the tension between dreaminess and directness. The music may spiral outward, but the songs remain purposeful, constantly circling back towards questions of what is true, what is imagined and what we choose to believe.

For a debut collection, 'The Wild Side' arrives with a remarkably clear sense of direction. SnakeOil invites us behind the curtain, but he never reveals exactly what's waiting there. And that uncertainty is a vital part of the pleasure behind it.