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 Wikipedia and 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.
UNCUT Magazine (British music monthly): “Momentum sags somewhat over its lengthy duration, but it also unquestionably features some of their finest, and funkiest, work to date.”
TUTV: Vintage electro pop bliss, the Ladytron way. Sticky, soothing New Order– and Pet Shop Boys-like melodies are nested within waves of scintillating synth radiance, while silvery vocals add tranquillising vibes. EBM for daydreamers.
KEY TRACKS: In Believe In You / Kingdom Undersea / A Death In London /
Caught In The Blink Of An Eye / Metaphysica and Solid Light
Press info: “It’s a record born from necessity rather than momentum, written during
a period when Hillig had nearly walked away from music altogether, and found himself worse for it. What emerged instead is his most vital and clear-eyed work to date, an
album shaped by collapse, community, and the unglamorous work of staying alive.”
TUTV: KAH’s warm and enthralling Americana voice injects his mixed-emotions songs with a puissant Tom Petty swagger, a rock-solid John Mellencamp zip, and, at times, a Billy Bragg tenacity.
Hillig‘s versatile songwriting skills shine throughout this highly appealing
and enrapturing record. I’ll have it on my earphones for a long time.
KEY TRACKS: The Horrible Truth / Divorce Of Course Of Course / Jules Can You See Me? / Something Is Different / Our Remaining Pig / We Were Right (‘Til We Were Wrong)
Band: CHALK Who: Earthshaking electro junks from Belfast, Ireland.
Album:CRYSTALPUNK
Their debut, following 3 EPs
over the past 4 years.
NME: “A knockout collection of arresting dance-punk. Ultimately, for all the personal meaning poured into ‘Crystalpunk’, it’s an album about unity. The unity in the oppositional soundscapes Chalk pull together, and the connection that’s possible once your individuality becomes a badge of pride. Because in ‘Crystalpunk’, there is something to believe in.”
TUTV: Decibel alarm! Chalk bombard your eardrums with a flaming flurry of disco-punk torpedoes. A sonic storm of nuclear projectiles put the flexibility of the Richter scale to the test. Think Depeche Mode on a ton of steroids. Let’s all run downtown, to the nightclub, and get the unifying party that those Irishmen are aiming at started.
Press info: “Jacob the Horse take on the rise of modern fascism, dealing with anxiety, and rallying cries for anarchy and Satan on new. It hits that nostalgic sweet spot of classic punk with elements of grunge, while bringing in tight, modern, folk-punk lyrical content that speaks to the time we’re living in now. It sparks equal parts anger and depression, while making sure we’re all having a great time listening.”
TUTV: Holy smoke! An unstoppable tidal wave of riot-riff-gun punk-rockers attack your stereo, ears and eventually your whole shaking body with a vehement Green Day urgency and targeted Bad Religion discharge. Double middle-finger for all political tyrants.
They’re busy destroying our planet. Let’s chase these scumbags out of here, so all their corrupt BS blows over. While doing so At Least It’s Almost Over will be your call-to-arms soundtrack. Attack. Now.
KEY TRACKS: Bad New Religion / 666 Chicks / The Black Hand / Totally Depressed / Closer
Dwyer: “I feel like it’s every artist’s calling to construct personal messages cloaked
in moments of escapism. It’s a bit of a joyous/sad record dealing with hope and
forgiveness, two things which I hope end up more in my life.”
TUTV: With Damaged Bug, Dwyer demonstrated/demonstrates that he’s way
more than a guitar freak. So, yes, less hyperkinetic electricity, more funky/punky
grooves, spiced with beat-rich percussion, subtle synth textures, and even a sax on the alluring meditation Over-Exposed.
Btw, Dwyer picked these 11 songs from a total of 40 he has written between tours. So, we can expect more bugs in the near future. Does this guy-in-shorts ever sleep?
KEY TRACKS: End Of The War / Hoak / Junk Food / Over-Exposed / Tented Lights
Californian riff maniac JOHN DWYER and his gang OSEES canned their
umpteenth album, and baptized it SORCS 80. It’ll land on August 9.
More info here.
Dwyer “This album was a self imposed ambitious project for us. Something
to kick in the creative flow. The last few years, having been a challenging time
in general, felt like a good time for a pivot. The last two albums were so guitar
and keyboard centric, I wanted a weird and fun set of parameters for us to
work with.”
First single, called CASSIUS, BRUTUS & JUDAS, is a rapid garage-punk
projectile with guitars, drums and a saxophone going after each other.
Tempestuous battle.
Tomorrow the riff-manic and OSEES, one of his outfits,
unleash their umpteenth LP, titled Intercepted Message.
But, promo-wise, he decided – clever move- to play the 37-minute record live
in full at The Best Show With Tom Scharpling yesterday. The performance was
recorded at the Forever Dog studio in North Hollywood, California and it’s now
shared to see and hear.
The high-powered rock energy is off the charts.
And, importantly, the sound/footage is HQ.
24/7 riff maniac JOHN DWYER and OSEES, one of his many musical outfits,
unleash a new longplayer, titled Intercepted Message in August.
More details to follow.
Dwyer has this to say about the new LP.
“A pop record for tired times.
Sugared with bits of shatterproof glass to put more crack in your strap.
At long last, Verse / chorus
A weathered thesaurus
This is Osees bookend sound
Early grade garage pop meets proto-synth punk suicide-repellant
Have a whack at the grass or listen while flat on your ass
Heaps of electronic whirling accelerants to gum up your cheapskate broadband
Social media toilet scrapers unite!
Allow your 24 hour news cycle eyes to squint
at this smiling abattoir doorman
You can find your place here at long last
All are welcome
From the get go to the finale ….
A distant crackling transmission of 80s
synth last-dance-of-the-night
tune for your lost loves
Suffering from Politic amnesia?
Bored of AI-generated pop slop?
Then this one is for you, our friends
Wasteland wanderer, stick around.
Love y’all
For fans of Teutonic synth punk and
Thee Oh Sees (who the fuck are they?)
– John Dwyer”
The first single, the title track, is a riff monster (what else) but
not only with deranged guitars but some schizo synths too.
Here’s the funny video with Dwyer as a TV news anchor.
Band: OSEES – one of the many monikers
for John Dwyer’s fanatic eruptions Album: Protean Threat Released: 18 September 2020
Info: WITNESS THE EVER-CHANGING, EVER-MUTATING THREAT THAT IS REALITY / PERCEPTION IS UNDER DURESS / SENSIBILITY IS BENDING EVERYDAY UNDER THE BARRAGE OF NONSENSE / WE MUST MAKE NOTE OF WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE HAVE BECOME / LOOK INTO THE MIRROR OF THE PLANET-KILLERS / GENEROSITY IS YOUR AEGIS AGAINST GREED / PSYCHIC CANNIBALS INFILTRATE AND CONTAMINATE ONCE FAMILIAR AND SEEMINGLY SECURE TERRITORIES EMPATHY IS YOUR ARMOR TO DEFLECT APATHY / LOVE IS YOUR CLUB TO ABATE HATE / THE FOG IS LIFTING AND HUMANS ARE OPENING THEIR EYES / THIS RECORDING IS AT THE APOGEE OF SCUZZ / PUNK ANTHEM AMULETS FOR YOUR EARS AND HEART / A BATTERY FOR YOUR CORE / BE STRONG / BE HUMAN / BE LOVE – Castle Face Records
Louder Than War says: “Album 23 for California psych-garage mastermind John Dwyer sees his band twisting evermore, dropping all articles and coming back together as Osees… It’s a perfect distillation of the trajectory that Dwyer and his cohorts have taken over the course of their so-far 23 album run. It sounds nothing like they have ever done, yet, at the same time, like something that only they could do. It’s those oxymoronical twists and turns that make Osees a delight to hear from every time as they power through their blend of scuzzy garage psych-punk and throw everything possible at you, just to keep you on your toes.” Full review here.
John Dwyer: “I don’t know what hard times is but you can’t take yourself too seriously
I suppose, we certainly don’t. The world is serious enough to be in the depths all the time,
so it’s good to have a sense of humor. The other option seems to be misery.”
JOHN DWYER, the man who breathes, eats, drinks and dreams
music will test our speakers with new album Protean Threat in
September. I have no idea whatsoever how many records he made
the past 10 years and how many monikers he used. I’m sure he
doesn’t know either.
After lead single Dreary Nonsense and If I Had Way he unleashed
a third stunner, simply titled SCRAMBLE SUIT II. I wonder who’s singing
but it’s definitely not Dwyer as he’s to busy producing dynamite riffs.
JOHN DWYER is one of the hardest working men in rock, 365 days a year,
24 hours a day. He’s a hyper-productive chameleon. I have no clue how many
albums he made in the past ten years. Nothing can stop the tireless centipede.
A new album with OSEES, titled Protean Threat is planned to be out in September.
More details here. After lead single ‘Dreary Nonsense‘ we get another taster. Dwyer
says about the new cut: “Looking at all the extraordinary death in the world now you
have to wonder, have you lived your best life? It’s never too late to start.”
IF I HAD MY WAY sounds like if Dwyer joined forces with equally hard-working
label mates King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard for a buzzing 60s prog rock stroke.
Rumbling, rambling and rattling.
