8 June 2026
Credit Osees
Riff machine OSEES led by barnstormer in shorts John Dwyer dropped,
without foreplay or warning, new music. 5 tracks, 32 minutes, under
the caption OFF COURSE.
Is it an album, is it an EP?
According to common understanding, an EP contains more tracks than a single but fewer
than an album (8-10). Contemporary EPs usually contain up to eight tracks
and have a playing time of 15 to 30 minutes.
I call it an EP, Osees‘ general calls it an album.
He’s the boss. So an album it is.
Album artwork
Dwyer: “We went back to an older method of writing for this one. We jammed
and jammed and jammed. I took the tapes home and ironed out some mutant
tunes. We went back into the studio and burned them to tape live and then I
took it home and did the vocals. Spice is always nice.
Mixed it all up in the cauldron and thus we have a strange brew indeed Floating in
the smoke we have: A couple long jams, a couple short jams and a finale that’ll dump
a bucket of ear worms on you (reminiscent of “the axis”?) Dip your toe in organ rock
and roll.”
TUTV: Whatever format it is. I played Off Course 5 times in a row. Yes, to my
ears it’s one of the best things Osees did in recent years. No riff mania, but 60/70’s
psych prog rock inspired work-outs, a bit of Deep Purple in their symphonic phase.
Mind-bending and trance-inducing, coming close to the extravagant trips
of that other ultra-productive team King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard,
27 albums in 16 years.
The Trick is my fav track. An instrumental, Krautrock-like, motorik piece
that thrives on organ and hyperkinetic drumming. Flabbergasting. Mind
you, all 32 minutes have a dumbfounding effect.
What a surprisingly surprising surprise.