Oh Sees | ||
| Allmusic Biography : While playing in the bands Pink & Brown, Zeigenbock Kopf, and the Coachwhips in the late 90s, guitarist/vocalist John Dwyer found he needed an outlet for songs that didnt reach the same level of frenzied noise as those groups. He chose the name Orinoka Crash Suite, or OCS for short, and began recording the folky psychedelic songs in a lo-fi manner, mostly on his own at first. Orinoka Crash Suite contributed tracks to the Stealing Babies and Blank Memory compilations in 1997, Youre Soaking in It... The Sounds and Smells of Load Records in 1999 under the name OCS (which was their official name thereafter), and Looking for the Perfect Glass: California Post Punk (U.S. Pop Life, Vol. 11) in 2001, and began work on an album. With the help of a range of musicians, including Pink & Browns drummer, Jeff Rosenberg, Dwyer recorded 1, a double album divided into two separate parts, the mostly acoustic 34 Reasons Why Life Goes on Without You and the noisier 18 Reasons to Love Your Hater to Death. It was released in 2003 by the Tumult label. Working quickly, and with a new batch of musicians, Dwyer returned in 2004 with a track on the SSSSSOSS cassette and the second OCS album, 2, for Narnack. Around this time both the Coachwhips and Zeigenbock Kopf disbanded and OCS became Dwyers main band. He added saw player Patrick Mullins to the lineup and began work on another album of noisy psych-folk. OCS quickly released their third and fourth albums, Songs About Death & Dying, Vol. 3 and OCS4: Get Stoved, as a double CD in 2005, again on Narnack. Around this time, Brigid Dawson, a friend of Dwyers and member of the duo Mix Tapes, joined the band and they changed their name to Thee Oh Sees for their next album, 2006s The Cool Death of the Island Raiders, which retained much of the freak folk air of OCS work. Over the next decade-plus, Dwyer operated under permutations of the Oh Sees name, cranking out numerous albums of ferocious garage punk, while playing shows that left both band and audience drenched in sweat. In 2017, Dwyer brought back the OCS name for an album of delicate and weird psych-folk that felt like an update on the lo-fi sound of past recordings. He teamed with Dawson in the writing process and early stages of recording, then brought back Mullins to add saw and electronics, a string section with arrangements written by Heather Lockie, and occasional horns under the guidance of Mikal Cronin. Memory of a Cut Off Head was released by Dwyers Castle Face label in late 2017. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 28 Title: 1 Released: 2003 Tracks: 53 Duration: 2:04:21 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 [untitled] (02:27) 2 [untitled] (02:57) 3 [untitled] (01:10) 4 [untitled] (01:19) 5 [untitled] (02:17) 6 [untitled] (01:32) 7 [untitled] (02:18) 8 [untitled] (02:18) 9 [untitled] (00:07) 10 [untitled] (02:46) 11 [untitled] (01:25) 12 [untitled] (01:18) 13 [untitled] (01:25) 14 [untitled] (01:39) 15 [untitled] (01:02) 16 [untitled] (01:17) 17 [untitled] (02:15) 18 [untitled] (02:10) 19 [untitled] (00:59) 20 [untitled] (02:02) 21 [untitled] (00:53) 22 [untitled] (01:14) 23 [untitled] (03:02) 24 [untitled] (01:54) 25 [untitled] (01:29) 26 [untitled] (01:17) 27 [untitled] (04:05) 28 [untitled] (01:39) 29 [untitled] (01:43) 30 [untitled] (01:29) 31 [untitled] (03:33) 32 [untitled] (00:40) 33 [untitled] (03:01) 34 [untitled] (06:47) 35 [untitled] (07:53) 1 [untitled] (05:39) 2 [untitled] (05:29) 3 [untitled] (03:05) 4 [untitled] (02:53) 5 [untitled] (01:27) 6 [untitled] (01:27) 7 [untitled] (02:17) 8 [untitled] (01:48) 9 [untitled] (01:11) 10 [untitled] (01:27) 11 [untitled] (02:06) 12 [untitled] (02:29) 13 [untitled] (01:17) 14 [untitled] (03:48) 15 [untitled] (01:21) 16 [untitled] (02:38) 17 [untitled] (05:58) 18 [untitled] (02:39) |
 | Album: 2 of 28 Title: 2 Released: 2004 Tracks: 22 Duration: 52:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 So I Guess We Cant Hang Out (02:55) 2 [untitled] (02:02) 3 [untitled] (02:04) 4 Mike D (01:31) 5 Banjo, Sold for Rent (01:34) 6 Killed Yourself (02:28) 7 You Are 16, I Am High (01:27) 8 [untitled] (02:03) 9 608 C (01:35) 10 Left Me Dry (02:33) 11 [untitled] (01:37) 12 Intermission (02:46) 13 Bisbee W/Chiara G (02:27) 14 Fretting and Fussing (03:04) 15 I Would Drown in Regret (02:16) 16 [untitled] (02:08) 17 No Bitches on This Train (01:48) 18 Bisbee 2 (02:31) 19 [untitled] (02:57) 20 Our Lovesong * Icky Boyfriends (04:14) 21 JPD a Young Man Tells Goldylox (02:00) 22 [untitled] (04:05) |
 | Album: 3 of 28 Title: 3 & 4 Released: 2005-05-04 Tracks: 28 Duration: 1:07:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 If I Had a Reason (03:20) 2 Second Date (03:17) 3 The Pool (02:22) 4 Burning Beauties (01:48) 5 Rescue (02:10) 6 Here I Come (02:35) 7 Greedy Happens (02:50) 8 Hey Kid (01:50) 9 Bicycle (03:05) 10 Split the Take (03:02) 11 Im Coming Home (02:41) 12 Oh No Bloody Nose (01:34) 13 Lili and Me (01:55) 14 I Am Slow (02:51) 1 Wait All Nite (02:25) 2 Devils Last Breath (01:14) 3 Tower & The Wall (03:09) 4 Friends of St. Thomas (01:53) 5 Along the Way (01:46) 6 Crime on My Mind (03:14) 7 Get Thy Bearings (02:21) 8 Harmony & Bells (02:45) 9 Head 2 (01:43) 10 Beginning Burning (02:39) 11 Head (00:56) 12 Cookie Destroyer (02:14) 13 Oh Babe, It Aint No Lie (02:23) 14 Dreadful Heart (03:02) |
 | Album: 4 of 28 Title: The Cool Death of Island Raiders Released: 2006-06-13 Tracks: 11 Duration: 36:09 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 The Guilded Cunt (02:43) 2 The Dumb Drums (02:29) 3 Turn Offs (02:04) 4 Losers in the Sun (02:24) 5 Drone Number One (05:01) 6 Island Raiders (04:05) 7 Cool Deaths (02:27) 8 Broken Stems (03:26) 9 We Are Free (04:13) 10 Drone Number Two (04:53) 11 You Oughta Go Home (02:24) |
 | Album: 5 of 28 Title: Sucks Blood Released: 2007 Tracks: 12 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 It Killed Mom (?) 2 Sucks Blood (?) 3 Iceberg (?) 4 The Gouger (?) 5 You Make Me Sick, Oh Yeah (?) 6 [untitled] (?) 7 The Killer (?) 8 Ship (?) 9 What the Driven Drive (?) 10 Invitation (?) 11 Golden Phones (?) 12 [untitled] (?) |
 | Album: 6 of 28 Title: The Masters Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In Released: 2008-04-07 Tracks: 15 Duration: 45:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Block of Ice (02:14) 2 Visit Colonel (03:32) 3 Grease 2 (02:47) 4 Ghost in the Trees (02:15) 5 Two Drummers Disappear (03:59) 6 Graveyard Drug Party (03:50) 7 The Masters Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In (02:25) 8 Grease (03:10) 9 Adult Acid (02:54) 10 The Coconut (03:10) 11 Maria Stacks (02:17) 12 Poison Finger (03:08) 13 You Will See This Dog Before You Die (03:07) 14 Quadrospazzed (05:03) 15 Koka Kola Jingle (01:16) |
| The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In : Allmusic album Review : Imagine what might happen if you created a mashup of the Cramps Songs the Lord Taught Us and the Dream Syndicates The Days of Wine and Roses. OK, now imagine that the vocal tracks have been stripped off the results and instead you have thee Headcoatees, Southern Culture on the Skids and the Mamas & the Papas fighting for aural dominance over the top. Got the picture? Well, its hard to say if what youd get would sound much like The Masters Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In, the debut album from John Dwyers latest project Thee Oh Sees, but at the very least, the two records would sound compatible when played back to back. Packed with dense layers of echoing guitars and crashing drums, The Masters Bedroom certainly sounds like the product of some glorious period in consciousness expansion. However, in this case Dwyer and his partners Brigid Dawson, Petey Dammit, and Mike Shoun have at least offered up a trip that you can dance to, full of bountiful hooks and insistent rhythms to go along with the corridors of guitar, and while this is a "sound" band rather than a "song" band, the melodies are pretty pleasing when they manage to bob to the surface, even as theyre paired with lyrical conceits like "Graveyard Drug Party," "Adult Acid," and "You Will See This Dog Before You Die." Thee Oh Sees make the psychedelic experience sound both menacing and like good fun on The Masters Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In, and if you need something appropriately decadent and dance-friendly for your next haunted house party, put this one at the top of your play list. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 28 Title: Thee Hounds of Foggy Notion Released: 2008-08-22 Tracks: 16 Duration: 48:46 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Gilded Cunt (02:51) 2 Island Raiders (03:25) 3 Ship (02:34) 4 Block of Ice (02:28) 5 Curtains (03:07) 6 Dumb Drums (02:45) 7 We Are Free (04:08) 8 Thee Hounds of Foggy Notion (01:39) 9 Make Them Kiss (03:56) 10 Golden Phones (03:00) 11 If I Had a Reason (02:26) 12 Highland Wifes Lament (03:07) 13 Dreadful Heart (03:57) 14 Ghost in the Trees (02:55) 15 Iceberg (02:56) 16 Second Date (03:32) |
| Thee Hounds of Foggy Notion : Allmusic album Review : Thee Hounds of Foggy Notion is the soundtrack to a series of live recordings Thee Oh Sees made around the San Francisco area in 2007; not on stages but in non-traditional performance spaces like the side of a busy highway, in the forest, and on the beach. The songs were meant to be recorded by a tape recorder, but it proved bulky and the sound was instead captured through one microphone wielded by the camera person. The band is John Dwyer on guitar and vocals, Brigid Dawson on harmony vocals, Toby Dammit on guitar, and Patrick Mullins on drums, playing quietly and powered by a generator. The record/DVD was recorded just as the band began to shift from the lo-fi freak folk of the OCS and early days of Thee Oh Sees to a more powerful and wildly electric sound; this collection of performances works as a sort of summing up of that scrappy psych folk sound before they fully transitioned. Its stripped down and haunted with a little bit of rumbling garage rock noise on the rockers and theres a fragile, almost tender approach on the ballads -- especially the painfully lovely "Golden Phones," which features some fine saw playing by Mullins. The band sound locked into each other, playing with restraint but also with fuzzy passion. Dawson in particular adds a great deal to the mix; her vocals mesh perfectly with Dwyers and create a spooky sweet sound. The songs are mostly taken from previous albums, though a few are new and a couple -- "Ghost in the Trees" and "Block of Ice" -- ended up on 2008s Masters Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In with full-band arrangements. Thee Hounds of Foggy Notion is the best kind of live album. It documents an era of the band in fine fashion, but also presents their songs in a new and interesting way. | ||
 | Album: 8 of 28 Title: Thee Oh Sees / The Intelligence Released: 2008-11 Tracks: 5 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Inquiry Perpitrated (?) 2 Mincing Around the Frocks (?) 3 Bulbs (?) 4 Witchworld (?) 5 Sunny Backyard (?) |
 | Album: 9 of 28 Title: Help Released: 2009-04-28 Tracks: 12 Duration: 36:25 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Enemy Destruct (03:19) 2 Ruby Go Home (04:22) 3 Meat Step Lively (02:47) 4 A Flag in the Court (02:01) 5 The Turn Around (01:03) 6 Can You See? (02:35) 7 Rainbow (01:46) 8 Go Meet the Seed (05:53) 9 I Cant Get No (01:58) 10 Soda St. #1 (02:40) 11 Destroyed Fortress Reappears (05:23) 12 Peanut Butter Oven (02:38) |
| Help : Allmusic album Review : "Tight" isnt a word that fits comfortably when describing Thee Oh Sees, but on Help, the second full-length effort from John Dwyers garage psych marauders, the band has certainly learned to find order amidst chaos in a manner that eluded them on their 2008 debut The Masters Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In. The basic approach on Help isnt particularly different than on Thee Oh Sees first effort -- the guitars are thick, ringing, and dripping with reverb and distortion, the rhythm section pounds away in a simple but relentless fashion, the massed vocals approximate vintage California-style harmonies in the midst of a trip on dirty acid, and the songs take traditional garage rock changes and bend them a wee bit as the production runs them through just enough low-budget studio trickery until they resemble a paisley nightmare oozing out of your speakers. Still, while most of the tunes on Help sound as purposefully messed up as ever, theyre just a bit tidier and more straightforward here, and the stronger framework makes a positive difference. Similarly, the performances sound more unified and less chaotic here, as if everyone is following the same vision that lurks over the horizon for a change, and the ferocity of Dwyers guitar is potent, locking into the crash-boom-bang of the bass and drums with impressive force. And while full-on assaults on reality like "Enemy Destruct" and "Soda St. #1" are the order of the day on Help, theres enough of a pop lilt in "Go Meet the Seed" and "Can You See?" to confirm these folks saw some real nice colors while making this album and have a variety of tricks in their repertoire to express them. You might not trust Thee Oh Sees to give you a ride home after a gig, but if youre looking for a seriously buzzy rave-up, Help certainly delivers the goods. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 28 Title: Dog Poison Released: 2009-10-03 Tracks: 10 Duration: 23:56 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The River Rushes (to Screw MD Over) (02:22) 2 Fake Song (02:15) 3 The Fizz (02:00) 4 Sugar Boat (01:59) 5 Head of State (02:05) 6 I Cant Pay You to Disappear (02:32) 7 The Sun Goes All Around (02:23) 8 Voice in the Mirror (02:17) 9 Dead Energy (02:49) 10 Its Nearly Over (03:14) |
| Dog Poison : Allmusic album Review : Anyone who thought the (relatively) louder, tighter, and more streamlined approach of Thee Oh Sees second official album, Help, was a sign this group might be falling out with its inner freak need not have worried. The 2009 release Dog Poison finds John Dwyer and his bandmates falling off the edge straight into the sound of purple; opening with a pair of slightly shambling acoustic-based tracks, Dog Poison soon descends into a louder and buzzier groove but is noticeably more low-key than their previous work, feeling more like a homemade effort with Dwyer and his pals brewing up their swampy psych-influenced noises in the midst of some sort of living room hootenanny. In many respects, the simpler and more organic tone of Dog Poison suits Dwyers melodic sense well enough (especially on the more subtle tracks, which faintly recall Tyrannosaurus Rex before Marc Bolan learned to boogie), and the booming, overloaded bass and imprecise overdubs lend this recording a sound that recalls acid-damaged home-brewed psych albums of the late 60s and early 70s, doubtless a powerful influence on this group. But at a mere 24 minutes, Dog Poison is significantly less ambitious in both size and scope than Thee Oh Sees previous albums, and while there was a clear if messy method to their madness on Help, too much of this material is the work of a talented but unfocused act messing around and not going anywhere in particular. Thee Oh Sees have always sounded somewhat incoherent, but in the manner of the old adage that not all who wander are lost; on Dog Poison, they sound rather like theyre stuck in place, and though they appear to be having some fun there, the finished product suggests theyre better off getting out more. | ||
 | Album: 11 of 28 Title: Warm Slime Released: 2010-05-11 Tracks: 7 Duration: 30:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Warm Slime (13:26) 2 I Was Denied (03:38) 3 Everything Went Black (03:18) 4 Castiatic Tackle (02:24) 5 Flash Bats (03:11) 6 Mega-Feast (02:08) 7 MT Work (02:27) |
| Warm Slime : Allmusic album Review : For a band that sound as if they subsist on a steady diet of cheap hallucinogens, Thee Oh Sees are an admirably ambitious bunch; Warm Slime is the fourth album in three years from John Dwyer and his roving band of psychedelic marauders, and if the liner notes are to be believed, they committed this album to tape in a single day in 2009. The semi-finished product lacks a certain amount in the way of precision and polish, but Thee Oh Sees were clearly together enough to make this stuff stick once the tape began to roll. The title track clocks in at 13-and-a-half minutes, and though Dwyer could have given himself plenty of room for fractured guitar bashing, instead he allows the songs insistent pulse to take over, and the throbbing groove carries it along with hypnotic effect even when the melody drifts off into the ether. The other six songs clock in at more traditional pop-single length, though with Dwyer and Petey Dammits layers of thick, ringing guitar tone, Michael Wayne Shouns furious drumming, and Brigid Dawsons low-tech keyboards this band can pack as much freak power into three minutes as other acts can summon in 30. And while "Warm Slime" gives Thee Oh Sees a chance to stretch their legs and explore their aural cosmos, the other selections reveal that they can write simple but indelibly catchy tunes when the mood strikes them, and the notion must have occurred to someone the day they cut this disc. Like the title suggests, Warm Slime is gooey but curiously inviting stuff, and sinking into it might not be the safest way to pass the time, but its a genuinely pleasurable experience. | ||
 | Album: 12 of 28 Title: Singles Collection Volume 1 & 2 Released: 2011 Tracks: 24 Duration: 1:12:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Carol Anne (03:28) 2 Inquiry Perpetrated (02:41) 3 Mincing Around the Frocks (02:28) 4 Kingsmeat (05:25) 5 The Freak Was Clean (03:12) 6 Kids in Cars (05:23) 7 Bloody Water (02:08) 8 Hey Buddy (03:07) 9 Comas (03:06) 10 I Agree (03:14) 11 Grave Blockers (02:49) 12 Tidal Wave (03:48) 13 Heart Sweats (02:33) 14 Contraption (Demo) (03:26) 15 Friends Defined (02:36) 16 Blood in Your Ear (Demo) (02:39) 17 Schwag Rifles (02:33) 18 The Drag (02:21) 19 7484 (03:03) 20 Castiatic Tackle (Demo) (02:56) 21 She Said to Me (01:52) 22 Where People Do Drugs (01:36) 23 In the Shadow of Giants (03:53) 24 Ichor (02:38) |
 | Album: 13 of 28 Title: Castlemania Released: 2011-05-10 Tracks: 16 Duration: 42:02 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 I Need Seed (02:54) 2 Corprophagist (A Bath Perhaps) (02:13) 3 Stinking Cloud (03:11) 4 Corrupted Coffin (02:07) 5 Pleasure Blimps (02:42) 6 A Wall, A Century 2 (02:42) 7 Spider Cider (00:58) 8 The Whipping Continues (02:27) 9 Blood on the Deck (02:17) 10 Castlemania (02:31) 11 A Warm Breeze (03:03) 12 Idea for Rubber Dog (01:28) 13 The Horse Was Lost (03:52) 14 I Wont Hurt You (02:32) 15 If I Stay Too Long (03:34) 16 What Are We Craving? (03:22) |
| Castlemania : Allmusic album Review : One of the hallmarks of Thee Oh Sees body of work is that every recording theyve made sounds as if it was created while the musicians were under the influence of a variety of hallucinogens, so it tells listeners practically nothing to say that the groups seventh album, Castlemania, sounds pretty trippy. However, while the average Oh Sees album is a heavy exercise in psychedelic murk, Castlemania sounds surprisingly light and pop-oriented, if only by this bands standards. Tunes like "Pleasure Blimps," "I Need a Seed," and "Spider Cider" recall classic mid-60s pop tunes in their slightly bent melodicism, at least before John Dwyer and his bandmates start draping layers of atonal soloing and Mellotron figures over them. Even the more full-blown psych numbers here, such as "Stinking Cloud," "A Wall, A Century 2," and the title track, are more approachable than most of Thee Oh Sees previous work, if only because most of them are admirably concise, with only five of these 16 songs running over three minutes. In the liner notes, Dwyer mentions this album was the last recorded in the bands old work space, which he describes as "very near and dear to my heart," and Castlemania does sound like the product of several happily productive days in this bands life; this album sounds less sinister and more playful than the bulk of their previous output, and if a lot of this is still going to seem chaotic and off-putting to anyone not flying a similar freak flag, its an easier way in to Thee Oh Sees curious musical world than any of their albums to date. (The album also closes with three covers that confirm that these folks can conjure this sound even when less chemically adventurous people are writing the material.) | ||
 | Album: 14 of 28 Title: Thee Oh Sees / Total Control Released: 2011-10-18 Tracks: 8 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Dead Energy (?) 2 Corrupt Coffin (?) 3 AA Warm Breeze (?) 4 Blood in Your Ear (?) 5 Nervous Harvest (?) 6 For Lease (?) 7 Rogue Abortion (?) 8 Sweaty (?) |
 | Album: 15 of 28 Title: Carrion Crawler/The Dream Released: 2011-11-08 Tracks: 10 Duration: 40:35 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Carrion Crawler (05:50) 2 ContraptionSoul Desert (05:21) 3 Robber Barons (05:15) 4 Chem-Farmer (04:08) 5 Opposition (01:38) 6 The Dream (06:52) 7 Wrong Idea (01:52) 8 Crushed Grass (02:52) 9 Crack In Your Eye (03:41) 10 Heavy Doctor (03:06) |
| Carrion Crawler/The Dream : Allmusic album Review : Since first emerging in the musical underground in the late ‘90s, Thee Oh Sees brainchild John Dwyer has never been satisfied to rest on his considerable creative laurels, jumping from project to project (starting with noise rock duo Pink & Brown and aside from Thee Oh Sees probably best known for distortion-laden garage revivalists Coachwhips). But now offering Thee Oh Sees’ eighth full-length in five years, Carrion Crawler/The Dream -- just five months past the release of its predecessor, Castlemania -- Dwyer seems to have hit a sweet spot, slowly evolving the band rather than abandoning it. The two-albums-in-one-year approach served the band well in 2009, as they offered both the shambling, acoustic-focused Dog Poison and chaos-in-control Help that year, and whether by design or coincidence, a similar trajectory emerged in 2011. Castlemania was the poppiest and most melodic we’d heard Thee Oh Sees yet, but Carrion Crawler/The Dream completely flips the script, capturing the range, energy, and freedom of their notoriously raging live performances in a way none of their previous records have. Recorded in June around the time of Castlemania’s release, this could be attributed to the addition of Lars Finberg (the Intelligence), who joined the band on tour as second drummer and makes his recorded debut on this release. And while Castlemania begged speakers to bubble over with eccentric effervescence, the assault of driving double-drum rhythms and scuzzy bass riffs on freakouts “Contraption/Soul Desert” and semi-eponymous “The Dream” threaten to blow them clean out. Putting some hands back on the controls, the looser “Robber Barons” works like a stomp-stoner hybrid, tripping and crunching its way through a murky groove, while instrumental “Chem-Farmer” mostly stays in the pocket of a Kraut-y drone, making room for Brigid Dawson’s stormy keyboard flourishes and Dwyer’s fiery guitar exclamations. For sounds more familiar to the band’s past works, the off-the-rails bounce of “Crushed Glass” and graveyard dirge of “Crack in Your Eye” recall Help’s “Meat Step Lively” and The Master’s Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In’s “Maria Stacks,” respectively. Hearing so many different sounds on Carrion Crawler/The Dream, it comes as no surprise that it was originally intended to be released as two EPs, but thanks to the band’s versatility the real surprise is how cohesively the songs work as one record. Diehards and newbies alike will revel in its weird, wild well-roundedness. | ||
 | Album: 16 of 28 Title: Putrifiers II Released: 2012-09-17 Tracks: 10 Duration: 36:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Wax Face (04:00) 2 Hang a Picture (03:54) 3 So Nice (03:52) 4 Cloud #1 (01:45) 5 Flood’s New Light (02:31) 6 Putrifiers II (06:10) 7 Will We Be Scared (05:23) 8 Lupine Dominus (03:28) 9 Goodbye Baby (03:28) 10 Wicked Park (02:09) |
| Putrifiers II : Allmusic album Review : In 2011, genre-shattering rockers Thee Oh Sees put a fractured spin on pop with Castlemania, returning later in the year with the wild experimentation of Carrion Crawler/The Dream EP. A year later, Putrifiers II lands somewhere in between, combining those aesthetics while bounding forward with new ideas and influences. Produced by Chris Woodhouse, whos been at the bands side since 2008s The Masters Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In, Putrifiers II is as warm as Thee Oh Sees have ever sounded -- a particularly stark contrast to the raw, live mood of Carrion Crawler/The Dream EP -- which reflects the sense of restraint (by their standards, anyway) and maturity that permeates the record even in its heaviest moments. On that heavier side, the title track and album centerpiece (for John Dwyer devotees, its almost a sequel to the song "Putrifiers" from his mid-aughts distortion-drenched band Yikes) bounces back and forth between hippy-dippy vocals and corrosive guitar chugging, giving way to a synth/noise jam session outro, while the crunchy, motorik "Lupine Dominus" whizzes with Syd Barrett-esque freakiness and Suicide-style paranoia. But Putrifiers II really shines with the tracks that show John Dwyers increasingly melodic ear and the many forms it takes, making the connection from Nuggets-y strut to Motown rhythm ("Floods New Light") and laid-back fuzz-pop to AM gold ("Hang a Picture"), as well as conjuring halcyon Byrds-meets-Kinks vibes ("Goodnight Baby") and idyllic symphonies in miniature ("Wicked Park"). On the more experimental side, the droning raga-like "So Nice" gives the feel of Thee Oh Sees spin on "Venus in Furs" and "Tomorrow Never Knows," and "Will We Be Scared?" has the eerie, nostalgic swoon of Scott Walker and Dirty Beaches. With so many contrasting ideas mingling on one album, Putrifiers II suffers in terms of overall cohesiveness, but longtime fans will feel rewarded in hearing the band simultaneously honing what it does best and pushing its boundaries. Incidentally, for this reason its also a great introduction for newer listeners. After 15 years and over a dozen albums, Putrifiers II is part snapshot and part look into the crystal ball, showing Dwyer and companys ever-changing approach to songwriting and musicianship, and further cementing Thee Oh Sees status as one of the most liberated, vital bands in indie rock. | ||
 | Album: 17 of 28 Title: Putrifiers II Demos Released: 2012-11-01 Tracks: 20 Duration: 52:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Lupine Dominus (03:14) 2 Cat Food (03:16) 3 Cloud #1 (02:06) 4 The Fakir (03:07) 5 Floods New Light Vers 1 (02:04) 6 I Am Smoke (02:02) 7 Goodnight Baby (02:34) 8 Hang a Picture (03:20) 9 Floods New Light Vers 2 (02:22) 10 Will We Be Scared? (01:48) 11 Regular Meat (02:32) 12 Noisey (01:46) 13 You Perceive a Calling (01:40) 14 So Nice (03:48) 15 Wax Faces (02:12) 16 Putrifiers II (04:24) 17 The Finger (03:34) 18 Wait Lets Go (02:28) 19 Say You Love Another (01:46) 20 Wicked Park (02:26) |
 | Album: 18 of 28 Title: Moon Sick Released: 2013 Tracks: 4 Duration: 14:34 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Grown in a Graveyard (03:23) 2 Sewer Fire (02:52) 3 Humans Be Swayed (04:42) 4 Candy Clock (03:37) |
 | Album: 19 of 28 Title: Floating Coffin Released: 2013-04-16 Tracks: 10 Duration: 41:28 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 I Come From The Mt. (04:30) 2 Toe Cutter / Thumb Buster (03:32) 3 Floating Coffin (02:21) 4 No Spell (04:28) 5 Strawberries 1+2 (05:47) 6 Maze Fancier (03:16) 7 Night Crawler (05:47) 8 Sweets Helicopter (02:45) 9 Tunnel Time (04:09) 10 Minotaur (04:53) |
| Floating Coffin : Allmusic album Review : The ever prolific John Dwyer isnt the kind of guy to let the grass grow between his toes and his band Thee Oh Sees release albums the way they used to -- one a year with singles in between. The 2013 entry in their extensive catalog, Floating Coffin, is a weird one. Not because it is experimental, psychedelic, or full of lo-fi wildness; any one of those things would be par for the course. What makes this record weird is that there isnt really anything weird about it. From beginning to end its a hard-rocking, heavy album with heavy drums, heavy guitars, and a knockout punch that not many of their songs have had before. Its still based in basic garage punk mania and Dwyers voice is still a yelpy, electric thing (though a much calmer here), but theres a solid, no-nonsense approach to the album that is as successful as it is shocking. Once you get past how simple the sound is, and how clean and clear everything is, you can let the songs sink in. Dwyer has written a batch of songs that arent immediately hooky in the way past efforts have been, but the power and control of writing fits that of the music perfectly. Whether rocking out hard as nails on tracks like "Tunnel Time" and "I Come from the Mountain," slowing it down to a metallic creep on "Strawberries 1+2," or letting the song unspool slowly like on the Wipers-y "No Spell," theres a clarity to the music that is impressively immediate. A couple songs might even sound good on a movie soundtrack, like the Brigid Dawson-sung rave-up "Maze Fancier," and thats not something one could have said about much of their previous work, as good as it was. Only the closing outer space doo wop of "Minotaur" breaks the spell a bit, but by then the heaviness has sunk in fully and a little break is just right. It may just be another one-shot experiment for Thee Oh Sees, and their next album might be a dubpunk concept album, but Floating Coffin will stand as a successful foray into the world of straight-ahead, heavy-rocking, non-weird alternative indie rock. | ||
 | Album: 20 of 28 Title: Drop Released: 2014-04-15 Tracks: 9 Duration: 31:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Penetrating Eye (03:23) 2 Encrypted Bounce (05:41) 3 Savage Victory (04:07) 4 Put Some Reverb on My Brother (02:37) 5 Drop (02:30) 6 Camera (Queer Sound) (03:11) 7 Kings Nose (03:36) 8 Transparent World (03:31) 9 The Lens (02:36) |
| Drop : Allmusic album Review : For a band whove built a career out of letting their collective freak flag fly, Thee Oh Sees seem to be purposefully inching toward something resembling normality. 2013s Floating Coffin found them inquisitively poking at the frameworks of straight-up hard rock, and with 2014s Drop, Thee Oh Sees are similarly playing with pop songs. Theres definitely a side portion of psychedelia folded into these tunes, as you might expect, but the oozing guitar freakouts and epic-scale noise battles that used to be a traditional feature on an Oh Sees album generally fail to materialize. Instead, Drop is a collection of songs running between two and four minutes (the relative epic "Encrypted Bounce" is the only number to break the five-minute barrier, though its still a modest work compared to the 13-plus minutes of Warm Slimes title track), with many boasting cleaner arrangements than usual, along with actual hooks. "Lens," with its modest string charts, could pass for a bit of Left Banke-style Baroque pop, and "The Kings Noise" wears its fanciful faux-British pretensions on its sleeve, while the layers of synthesizers on "Transparent World" sound more like vintage prog rock than Thee Oh Sees usual low-budget hallucinatory ramblings. Sure, there are plenty of fuzz and lysergic synth squeals to be found, but "Penetrating Eye" has an actual tune and a singalong "la la la" chorus to go along with them, and the title cut matches the savage fuzz of John Dwyers guitar with a bouncy melody thats suitable for dancing. And in grand pop tradition, Drop wastes little time, spinning through its nine songs in 32 minutes, and leaving the listener wanting more. Theres enough of Thee Oh Sees personality in Drop that fans will readily recognize it, but if youve ever been turned off by their layers of skronk, or the acid-damaged travels into the sonic wilderness, Drop could well be the album where this band finally catches up with you. | ||
 | Album: 21 of 28 Title: Mutilator Defeated at Last Released: 2015-05-25 Tracks: 9 Duration: 33:21 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Web (04:58) 2 Withered Hand (03:30) 3 Poor Queen (02:20) 4 Turned Out Light (02:05) 5 Lupine Ossuary (04:18) 6 Sticky Hulks (06:50) 7 Holy Smoke (02:40) 8 Rogue Planet (01:56) 9 Palace Doctor (04:40) |
| Mutilator Defeated at Last : Allmusic album Review : Calling Thee Oh Sees John Dwyer insanely prolific only gets at half of what makes him and the group he helms so special. Yes, he cranks out a lot of records. 2015s Mutilator Defeated at Last is the groups sixth record in five years and the second after a drastic lineup change. Plus a week after this was released, his electronic project Damaged Bug put out an album. The more important thing is that no matter his guise, Dwyer continues to crank out consistently great to amazing songs and albums that overflow with hot-wired guitars, over-revved vocals, and giant, jagged hooks. After a slight stylistic diversion with 2014s Drop that saw Dwyer and producer/collaborator Chris Woodhouse calming things down a bit and even bringing in some Baroque pop strings, Mutilator is a devastatingly loud and ferocious hard rock album. Dwyers guitar sounds gnarly and huge, like its being fed through a thresher and spit back out by a dinosaur, and his playing is unhinged throughout. The opening "Web" sets the scene with its creeping, grinding groove, pummeling drums, and super heavy guitar over which Dwyers horror movie vocals stalk menacingly. Most of the album falls into this kind of post-psychedelic, pre-heavy metal sound to great effect. Its like Blue Cheer had some tunes worth remembering or Black Sabbath owned a Monkees record or two. Dwyer even tries his hand at some boogie rock on "Turned Out Light" and basically reinvents the style into something fun. More songs like this, and he could open for Foghat and nobody would bat an eye. To balance out the dark weirdness and loud mayhem, Dwyer adds the witchy acid folk instrumental "Holy Smoke," and a couple of songs that aim for a slightly less bonkers, yet still thickly psychedelic area. "Palace Doctor" and "Sticky Hulks" slow the tempo, but especially on the latter, dont sacrifice any power at all. After Drop some might have expected Thee Oh Sees to continue to explore their softer side, Mutilator Defeated at Last confounds those expectations. Blows them up, really, in a giant fireball of guitars, noise, and psychedelic power. | ||
 | Album: 22 of 28 Title: A Weird Exits Released: 2016-08-12 Tracks: 8 Duration: 39:33 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Dead Mans Gun (03:28) 2 Ticklish Warrior (03:06) 3 Jammed Entrance (05:21) 4 Plastic Plant (05:39) 5 Gelatinous Cube (03:27) 6 Unwrap the Fiend, Pt. 2 (04:27) 7 Crawl Out From the Fall Out (07:50) 8 The Axis (06:11) |
| A Weird Exits : Allmusic album Review : Hot on the heels of a live album that captured them in all their sweaty glory, thee ever-prolific Oh Sees returned in mid-2016 with their 16th album, Weird Exits. As on 2015s Mutilator Defeated at Last, the bands leader/guitarist John Dwyers incredibly powerful and blown-out guitar sound and ragged howl of a voice lead the way, with bassist Tim Hellman and dual drummers Ryan Moutinho and Dan Rincon from the groups live incarnation chasing valiantly behind in his wake. Dwyers guitar sound throughout the album is massive, sure to thrill lovers of tones that melt faces and peel paint. Whether paired with galloping rhythms, like on the opening "Dead Mans Gun," tied to battering midtempo sludge fests, like on the merciless "Ticklish Warrior" or holding on for dear life as the band shoots out of gravity on their way to a collision course with the sun on "Gelatinous Cube," his sound and playing are inspirational. He truly holds nothing back on the guitar-heavy tracks that make up most of the album and show the band playing with the same amount of laser-sharp focus and dynamic tension that they did on Mutilator. Thats about half the album, the rest is something a little different. Using the dual drummers to their fullest, Dwyer takes the opportunity to stretch out and jam. The synth-twiddling, elongated, Krautrock-leaning "Jammed Entrance" and the slow rolling "Unwrap the Fiend, Pt. 2" have some nice subtle playing, complementary drum fills, and almost restrained guitar playing. The two tracks that end the album go even further away from the noise blasts that kick things off. "Crawl Out from the Fall Out" features droning cellos, spooky synths, shards of outer space guitar, and a tempo best suited for staring dazedly into the middle distance as candles burn down to a pool of hot wax. Add in Dwyers menacing near-whispered vocals and its a slow burn psych jam worthy of lasting the almost-eight-minutes it takes for it to fully unwind. "The Axis" charts a similar course, but relies more on churchy organs, adds in vocals by former Oh Sees member Brigid Dawson, and ends in a tape-shredding display of guitar insanity that sounds like Dwyers using the amp Neil Young broke on "Like a Hurricane," then breaking it even more definitively. Its an impressive feat of guitar destruction and caps off another brilliant Oh Sees album in fine style. With Mutilator, and now this album, the band is firing on all cylinders and then some, making psych-prog-metal-punk jams for the ages. | ||
 | Album: 23 of 28 Title: An Odd Entrances Released: 2016-11-18 Tracks: 6 Duration: 29:45 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 You Will Find It Here (05:58) 2 The Poem (03:20) 3 Jammed Exit (06:34) 4 At the End, On the Stairs (02:45) 5 Unwrap the Fiend, Pt. 1 (03:04) 6 Nervous Tech (Nah John) (08:01) |
 | Album: 24 of 28 Title: Dead Medic Released: 2017 Tracks: 2 Duration: 21:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Dead Medic (11:43) 2 A Few Days of Reflection (09:58) |
 | Album: 25 of 28 Title: Orc Released: 2017-08-25 Tracks: 10 Duration: 50:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Static God (04:20) 2 Nite Expo (02:57) 3 Animated Violence (05:06) 4 Keys to the Castle (08:10) 5 Jettisoned (05:14) 6 Cadaver Dog (04:50) 7 Paranoise (04:28) 8 Cooling Tower (03:35) 9 Drowned Beast (05:02) 10 Raw Optics (06:22) |
| Orc : Allmusic album Review : On their 400th album in the last two years, one might assume that the Oh Sees might be running out of steam. Maybe they would be out of ideas, lacking fire or retreading ground previously trod to the point of being worn out. Nope, none of that. Orc is another classic Oh Sees album that shows no signs of wear and tear anyplace in the operation. About half the record is made up of songs that are a white-hot blast of blown-out guitars, dual drummers bashing the living snot out of their kits, a bassist trying to hold it all together in the middle of a hurricane, and John Dwyer yelping like he just put his hand down on a hot stove. The other half is split between thudding heavy metal that comes complete with proggy organ breakdowns ("Animated Violence"), creepy art rock that showcases Dwyers spookiest vocals ("Jettison"), tracks that impinge on the synth rock of Dwyers Damaged Bug alter ego ("Paranoise"), and two songs that feature long codas with violin ("Keys to the Castle") and drum ("Raw Optics") solos. Through it all, Dwyer and crew ride the dynamic shifts between quiet and loud, navigate the madly juxtaposed sections, weirdly complicated hard prog, and mindlessly bashed-out garage rock, and basically keep listeners on their toes as its almost impossible to guess what might happen next, even within such a singular world as the one Dwyer has spent years carving out for the band. No matter what shape or form the songs take, they are driven by Dwyers non-stop energy and the bands uncanny ability to transmit it through the speakers like sparks from a live wire. Hes truly an indie rock treasure and if he and the Oh Sees made a hundred albums a year, theyd all be worth listening to. Especially if they had the raging fire, killer songs, and unpredictable genius that Orc has. | ||
 | Album: 26 of 28 Title: Memory of a Cut Off Head Released: 2017-11-17 Tracks: 10 Duration: 44:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Memory of a Cut Off Head (04:47) 2 Cannibal Planet (04:29) 3 The Remote Viewer (05:27) 4 The Baron Sleeps and Dreams (03:34) 5 On and On Corridor (05:50) 6 Neighbor to None (02:30) 7 The Fool (04:41) 8 The Chopping Block (03:14) 9 Time Tuner (05:57) 10 Lift a Finger by the Garden Path (04:27) |
| Memory of a Cut Off Head : Allmusic album Review : As if he werent busy enough cranking out records with the Oh Sees, making weird electronic albums as Damaged Bug, and co-running the prolific Castle Face record label, John Dwyer needed another outlet for songs and sounds, so in 2017 he brought the OCS name back to life and released Memory of a Cut Off Head. OCS was the early incarnation of the Oh Sees, making lo-fi and experimental records before the band evolved into a garage punk juggernaut. Memory of a Cut Off Head doesnt revert back to the scruffy, sometimes off-putting sound of those early records; instead, Dwyer and co-conspirator Brigid Dawson take a step away from the pounding power of the Oh Sees in favor of something hazily psychedelic and expansive, a little bit folky and rustic, with every nook and cranny filled by a wide array of instruments meticulously arranged into something that would make the Incredible String Band sit up and take notice. On a batch of songs that retain all the hallmarks of Dwyers other work (giant hooks, seesawing dynamics, and intense lyrics delivered with a gleeful punch), the duo stacks violins, harpsichord, cello, and keys on top of restrained guitar, bass, and drums, with Dwyer dialing his vocals down to creepy most of the time and Dawson providing lovely harmonies. She also steps to the front on a couple songs that would make Kendra Smith proud, "The Fool" and "Time Tuner," as well as an oddly sunny psych-pop tune, "Lift a Finger," that ends the album on a cheerful note. She and Dwyer fit together like a warped hippie version of Lee & Nancy, or George & Tammy, each complementing the other perfectly. Her contributions show that she should definitely start working on her own stuff soon. Really, they should both work on more OCS music soon, since this album is a trippy, spooky delight. | ||
 | Album: 27 of 28 Title: Live In San Francisco Released: 2018 Tracks: 13 Duration: 1:21:39 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Memory of a Cut Off Head (05:12) 2 Cannibal Planet (04:19) 3 Remote Viewer (05:55) 4 The Baron Sleeps and Dreams (02:23) 5 On & On Corridor (05:25) 6 Neighbor to None (03:33) 7 The Fool (06:03) 8 The Chopping Block (03:51) 1 Time Tuner (08:08) 2 Lift a Finger (04:33) 3 Dreadful Heart (04:27) 4 Iceberg (02:51) 5 Block of Ice (24:55) |
| Live In San Francisco : Allmusic album Review : Thee Oh Sees are one of the more prolific bands around, cranking out album after album of damn good garage rock thats noisy, hooky, and whip smart. The bands leader, Jon Dwyer, is also a blazing hot guitarist -- his way with a chunky, blown-out riff is magical, and his solos are like barely controlled lightning. His skills come through dazzlingly enough on studio albums; on 2016s live album, Live in San Francisco, they smack you in the head with a nail-studded 2x4 until you see enough stars to light up the darkest night sky. Dwyer and his band rip through a selection of songs from past albums, burning with manic energy and threatening to burst through the speakers while still managing to build in enough dynamic tension to keep it all from barreling the listener over. For every rocked-out song with pounding tempos and unhinged guitar mauling, like "I Come from the Mountain" or "Withered Hand," theres a relatively restrained and spooky track, like the trippily meandering "Sticky Hulks" or rollicking "Tidal Wave," which provide balance and a chance to catch some deep breaths before the next onslaught. The record captures Dwyer and the group at their peak powers, and while maybe its not as good as seeing the band on-stage, where Dwyers gleefully wild antics take it right to the edge of being a spectacle, its pretty spectacular. It also proves once and for all that Thee Oh Sees are definitely the most powerful, inspired, and fierce of all the scuzzy garage rockers and fuzzy psychedelic bands of their era. | ||
 | Album: 28 of 28 Title: Smote Reverser Released: 2018-08-17 Tracks: 11 Duration: 59:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Sentient Oona (05:34) 2 Enrique El Cobrador (03:53) 3 C (04:21) 4 Overthrown (02:41) 5 Last Peace (07:41) 6 Moon Bog (04:56) 7 Anthemic Aggressor (12:13) 8 Abysmal Urn (03:25) 9 Nail House Needle Boys (04:40) 10 Flies Bump Against the Glass (04:25) 11 Beat Quest (06:04) |