Review: Oh Sees – Metamorphosed

Blending punk rock and krautrock, Oh SeesMetamorphosed is a wild EP, but what else would expect from these cats? They’ve been incredibly prolific this year, which has been a boon to us fans of the band. Future live shows by Oh Sees might end up being three hours long just so Tom Dolas, John Dwyer, Tim Hellman, Paul Quattrone, and Dan Rincon can play half the material they’ve put out this year.

Opener “Saignant” is a minute-and-a-half blast of punk fury that leaves you wondering, “What the hell just happened?” “Electric War” unleashes double surf drums, trippy synths, and Hellman’s bass sounding like it’s doing a keg stand while Dwyer’s guitar runs around the room like a mean gremlin. “Weird and Wasted Connection” starts to bring in the krautrock elements, but stays at under two minutes with its post-punk tempo.

The first three tracks are each under two minutes in length. “The Virologist” (Could Osees be the first band in 2020 to come up with that song title? It seems unlikely, as it was ripe for the taking.), on the other hand, is an instrumental that’s over fourteen minutes long. Quattrone and Rincon put down a steady beat, Hellman goes for a bass stroll, Dolas kicks back and meditates with his synths, and Dwyer takes his time with his guitar – letting it stretch out like a cat in a warm window. “I Got a Lot” is over twenty-three minutes with Dwyer repeating “I got a lot on my mind.” several times. Don’t we all by this point? He also sings about wanting a future, to be a teacher, and, more or less, to, as Prince put it, “get through this crazy thing called life.” He also sings, “I wanna get ya real high.” The song nearly does that with its hypnotic drums alone.

It’s a fine EP and another piece of the big Oh Sees / OSEES / OCS catalogue just from this year that includes two live albums, a full album, a remix album, and multiple singles. Oh Sees have shown us that 2020 wasn’t a year to slack off. Sure, it gave some of us extra time to relax, but it was a year to create and focus and work for the betterment of ourselves and others (as every year should be). It was a year to transform, to metamorphose into something new. Put on this EP and get to work.

Keep your mind open.

[Start by subscribing.]

Rewind Review: Oh Sees – Mutilator Defeated at Last (2015)

I have no idea if that weird, prickly pear-headed humanoid holding what appears to be either a cruller or a tower of onion rings is the “Mutilator” mentioned in the title of Thee Oh Sees‘ 2015 album Mutilator Defeated at Last or the created that is about to defeated Mutilator on some sort of rope bridge or walkway with a slime-covered railing. I do know, however, that it rocks beginning to end and has some of their biggest hits.

The loopy bass of Tim Hellman (his first album with the band) gets things off to a great start on “Web” – the sticky, funky opener that includes wild drumming from Nick Murray (also his first foray with the band) and John Dwyer‘s usual guitar work that shifts from frenetic to psychedelic as fast as Barry Allen turning a corner. “Withered Hand” starts out with the sounds of wind rattling through a haunted house and Murray’s snare drum sounding like a hissing adder before Dwyer unloads his guitar riffs like a cauldron of hot oil shot from a trebuchet.

“Poor Queen” is one of Oh Sees‘ / O Sees‘ / OCS‘ tunes that’s almost a shoegaze track. Dwyer’s vocals have just enough reverb and the guitar and synths blend together like incense and tea. “Turned Out Light” has a great garage rock swing to it that is pure fun to hear and probably to play for Dwyer and his crew.

“Lupine Ossuary” is a wild ride that comes at you from so many angles that it’s like being in the middle of a mosh pit that has a live hornet’s nest being kicked around on the floor, but the hornets are as drunk, high, or geared up as everyone else. “Sticky Hulks” is almost seven minutes of psychedelia with Dwyer’s guitar sometimes sounding like sonar pings and his electric organ work sounding like church music. “Holy Smoke” is (Dare I say it?) a pretty song. Dwyer’s acoustic guitar picking and strumming mixes well with Murray’s simple beats, Hellman’s bass line walk, and Dwyer’s complimentary synths.

“Rogue Planet” rolls and tumbles like its namesake charging through space toward its destructive meeting with another celestial body. The closer, “Palace Doctor,” sends us out on a psychedelic note with Murray’s drums slinking in the background with Dwyer’s vocals as the guitar and bass come forward like inquisitive ghosts.

Perhaps Mutilator was defeated by this album and we all need to thank Thee Oh Sees for saving us from an extra-dimensional threat by the power of their rock. I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case. Their stuff can shake walls and reality, and this album certainly proves this true.

Keep your mind open.

[You can defeat your lack of music news and reviews by subscribing.]

Oh Sees / OCS announce tour dates with Ty Segall and unleash D&D-themed video.

WATCH THE MONSTROUS NEW VIDEO FOR “NITE EXPO

TY SEGALL ADDED TO LOS ANGELES BENEFIT SHOWS;
CASTLEMANIA ANNOUNCED IN LONDON & MANCHESTER

ORC OUT NOW, MEMORY OF A CUT OFF HEAD
OUT 11/17 ON CASTLE FACE

Who would think that the creator of such records as Orc, Memory of a Cut Off Head, Mutilator Defeated At Last, Carrion Crawler, and Castlemania would hold Halloween in high regard? Oh Sees share the video for “Nite Expo” a song off their album Orc (released in August on Castle Face). The video features a hideous adventurer fighting his way through a cavernous dungeon, slaying all manner of ghoulish beasts and monsters. Will he reach the castle and save the day? You’ll have to watch to find out. “Animation and role-playing games were a huge part of my youth,” says Dwyer, “so I was really excited to work on this with Alex Theodoropulos and make a fun Halloween video that harkens back to the real simple times. Imagination running wild and no thoughts of a heavy world.”
WATCH “NITE EXPO”
https://youtu.be/O8hf8HBeFSE
Also, as previous reported, OCS (featuring John Dwyer, Brigid Dawson, Tim Hellman, Paul Quattrone, Tom Dolas and a string section consisting of Heather Lockie, Eric Clarke and Emily Elkin) announced four shows, two in Los Angeles and two in San Francisco. Proceeds from both LA shows will benefit L.A. Kitchen and, in addition to Shannon Lay, Ty Segall was just added, performing solo acoustic. The SF shows will benefit the Coalition on Homelessness, and will also be supported by Ty Segall and Shannon Lay. Furthermore, for our friends across the pond, Castle Face is proud to present…CASTLEMANIA. Here are some words from Castle Face about the event:

May we present, for you Britishers among us – or those amongst them – a one-two shot to the ribs from the Castle Face Records roster: Thursday, March 1st in Manchester and Friday, March 2nd in London, spearheaded by those indefatigable and indispensable Oh Sees, a live force to be feared. They’ll be joined by white mages of healing and appealing frequencies Once and Future Band, underground pop wunderkind cum laude Kelley Stoltz, feedback-tipped missiles of love and boredom Flat Worms, and the fuzzed-up goth pop stylings of Male Gaze.

OCS TOUR DATES
Fri. Dec. 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom w/ Ty Segall (Solo Acoustic), Shannon Lay
Sat. Dec. 16 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom w/ Ty Segall (Solo Acoustic), Shannon Lay
Sun. Dec. 17 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel w/ Ty Segall (Solo Acoustic), Shannon Lay
Mon. Dec. 18 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel w/ Ty Segall (Solo Acoustic), Shannon Lay

OH SEES TOUR DATES
Thu. Mar. 1, 2018 – Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall (Castlemania)
Fri. Mar. 2, 2018 – London, UK @ The Troxy (Castlemania)
Listen to OCS’s “The Fool” – http://bit.ly/2xWKTzA
Listen to OCS’s “Memory of a Cut Off Head” – http://bit.ly/2wJQNUt

Pre-order Memory of a Cut Off Head – http://bit.ly/2wiTwSM
Purchase Orc – https://www.midheaven.com/item/orc-by-oh-sees
Hi-res photos/album art: http://pitchperfectpr.com/thee-oh-sees/

Oh Sees/OCS Online:
http://www.theeohsees.com
https://www.castlefacerecords.com
http://pitchperfectpr.com/thee-oh-sees/
https://www.castlefacerecords.com/collections/thee-oh-sees

John Dwyer releases 20th album in 20 years with OCS’ “Memories of a Cut Off Head.”

OH SEES’ NEW ALBUM ORC OUT NOW; OH SEES ARE DEAD, LONG LIVE OCS

OCS ANNOUNCES MEMORY OF A CUT OFF HEAD, OUT 11/17 ON CASTLE FACE

LISTEN TO TITLE TRACK OFF 20TH ALBUM IN 20 YEARS

Just as you begin to get comfortable with something, the rug is pulled from under you. Last Friday, John Dwyer and his band Oh Sees released their newest record, the monolithic psych opus Orc. This release represents the 19th album under some amalgam of the name Oh Sees/Thee Oh Sees/The Oh Sees, OCS, etc. Wasting no time, John Dwyer presents the 20th album (in the 20th year of the band’s existence), Memory of a Cut Off Head (out 11/17 on Castle Face), returning to his roots as OCS.

It is easy to forget (especially amidst the ringing of ears and aching of muscles after your typical Oh Sees show) that initially, OCS was a rather hushed affair. After the minimalistic brutality of Coachwhips, OCS was a diametric opposite corner of John’s musical world, quiet to the point of whispered in the wind, buffeted by the airy whirr of singing saw, soft and strange. Those early records especially had a rather contraband hush about them, as if the party has gone on all night and continues into the morning but everyone’s raspy from talking too much and gradually agrees to whisper and pantomime as they watch the sun come up over the hills. Since then of course, things got gradually louder, faster, crazier…the band evolved since then into the Oh Sees everyone knows. For the 20th Oh Sees release, 100th Castle Face title, and 20th year doing it, John re-examines the quieter roots of it all in particularly baroque and homesteadly fashion. Memory of a Cut Off Head was co-written with longtime collaborator and vocal counterpoint Brigid Dawson, recorded in total in John’s own Stu Stu Studio, and it’s lush, sumptuous in texture, but satisfyingly retains the gentle grace of the early stuff. There’s beautifully executed strings throughout, courtesy of Heather Lockie’s fine arrangements, horn arrangements courtesy of Mikal Cronin, and they even brought back the old saw – Patrick Mullins, that is – on saw and electronics. A return and a refinement of old forms, a few solemn meditations on life lived at high velocity, perhaps a respite from it…a softer side of JPD and distinguished company. Listen to the title track below.
LISTEN TO “MEMORY OF A CUT OFF HEAD”
http://bit.ly/2wJQNUt

PRE-ORDER MEMORY OF A CUT OFF HEAD
http://bit.ly/2wiTwSM

MEMORY OF A CUT OFF HEAD TRACKLISTING
1. Memory of a Cut Off Head
2. Cannibal Planet
3. The Baron Sleeps and Dreams
4. The Remote Viewer
5. On & On Corridor
6. Neighbor To None
7. The Fool
8. The Chopping Block
9. Time Tuner
10. Lift A Finger

 

PRAISE FOR ORC

“With their latest full-length, and a minor name change, John Dwyer’s garage-punk band continues to travel further toward rock’s outer limits.” – Pitchfork (7.4/10)

“The record is an absolutely evil stunner from front to back, top to bottom, head to toes and everywhere in between, and whips up the same kind of radiant, strange awe that the band’s overdriven catalog has so generously perpetrated album after wicked album.” – Paste (9.5/1010)

“Many have tried to knock the crown from his head, but essentially most just need to come to the conclusion that they’re not even on the same mountain.” – Raven Sings The Blues

“Whatever their lineup happens to look like, Oh Sees are here to deliver surrealist vignettes of horror and revelation. Dwyer paints sprawling auditory cartoons of aliens, mythical creatures and dominions of the otherworldly here.” – Exclaim! (8/10)

OH SEES/OCS TOUR DATES
Thu. Aug. 31 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Fri. Sept. 1 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom
Sat. Sept. 2 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar
Mon. Sept. 4 – Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas Outside
Tue. Sept. 5 – New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jack’s
Wed. Sept. 6 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
Sept. 7 – Raleigh, NC @ Hopscotch Music Festival
Fri. Sept. 8 – Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero Theater
Sa. Sept. 9 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
Sun. Sept. 10 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
Wed. Sept. 13 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
Thu. Sept. 14 – Montreal, QC @ La Tulipe I Le National
Fri. Sept. 15 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Theater
Sat. Sept. 16 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
Sun. Sept. 17 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
Tue. Sept. 19 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall
Fri. Sept. 22 – Missoula, MT @ Monk’s
Sat. Sept. 23 – Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s
Sun. Sept. 24 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
Mon. Sept. 25 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
Wed. Sept. 27 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
Thur. Sept. 28 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall

Purchase Orc – https://www.midheaven.com/item/orc-by-oh-sees
Hi-res photos/album art: http://pitchperfectpr.com/thee-oh-sees/

Oh Sees Online:
http://www.theeohsees.com
https://www.castlefacerecords.com
https://www.castlefacerecords.com/collections/thee-oh-sees