Throughout this site’s eight year history, I’ve written quite a bit about the Bay Area-based Oh Sees (a.k.a. Thee Oh Sees, OCS, The Oh Sees, The Orange County Sound, Orinoka Crash Suite and other variations). And as you may recall, the band which is led by its ridiculously prolific primary songwriter John Dwyer (vocals, guitar) and currently comprised of Tim Hellman (bass), Dan Rincon (drums) and Paul Quattrone (drums) have a long held reputation for a wide ranging experimentalism that has seen the band dabble and bounce between lysergic folk, furious and sweaty garage punk, sci-fi driven krautrock and countless others — with each successive album generally being completely different from its predecessors.
Last year’s Orc was a muscular and darkly inventive turn for the current lineup with the material balancing a cosmic vibe with some of their most punishing tendencies in some time. They promptly followed that up with Memory of a Cut Off Head which found the band revisiting the sound and approach of their early years, However, their latest album, the recently released Smote Reverser was recorded at the dusty pecan farm, where they recorded Orc — and the album’s latest single is the expansive “Anthemic Aggression.” Clocking in at almost 13 minutes, the track is centered by a spacious, lysergic-tinged and percussive, krautrock groove and explosive blasts of cosmic ray-like feedback and bursts of fuzzy guitar. And while the song brings a cerebral, prog rock sensibility to mind, as I’m reminded of Yes, Rush and King Lizard and the Gizzard Wizard, it balances that with a primal, forceful groove that subtly hints at Afrobeat — all while directly drawing at krautrock.
Directed by John Dwyer and featuring puppets, a spaceship and green screen work by Dwyer, the recently released video follows two intergalactic space travelers fleeing our tiny little section of the galaxy and the mind-bending things they see as they go through dimensions and further galaxies.
There’s one other thing Dwyer and company are known for: being relentlessly road warriors and throughout October, they’ll be bringing their punishing live show to a number of venues across the country, including a three night stay at Warsaw — October 17, 2018 – October 19, 2018. Check out the tour dates below.
TOUR DATES:
TUE 10/2/2018 Great American Music Hall San Francisco, California
WED 10/3/2018 Great American Music Hall San Francisco, California
FRI 10/5/2018 Crystal Ballroom Portland, Oregon
SAT 10/6/2018 Neumos Seattle, Washington
SUN 10/7/2018 Neumos Seattle, Washington
MON 10/8/2018 Stage 112 Missoula, Montana
THU 10/11/2018 First Avenue & 7th St. Entry Minneapolis, Minnesota
FRI 10/12/2018 Thalia Hall Chicago, Illinois Timmy’s Organism
SAT 10/13/2018 Beachland Ballroom Cleveland, Ohio Timmy’s Organism
SUN 10/14/2018 Danforth Theater Toronto, ON
MON 10/15/2018 Le National Montreal, Quebec
WED 10/17/2018 Warsaw Brooklyn, New York Timmy’s Organism
THU 10/18/2018 Warsaw Brooklyn, New York Landed
FRI 10/19/2018 Warsaw Brooklyn, New York Landed
SAT 10/20/2018 Union Transfer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
SUN 10/21/2018 Broadberry Richmond, Virginia Escape-ism
MON 10/22/2018 Orange Peel Asheville, North Carolina Escape-ism
TUE 10/23/2018 Variety Playhouse Atlanta, Georgia Escape-ism
THU 10/25/2018 One Eyed Jack’s New Orleans, Louisiana
SUN 10/28/2018 Lowbrow Palace El Paso, Texas
MON 10/29/2018 Sister Bar Albuquerque, New Mexico
TUE 10/30/2018 Crescent Ballroom Phoenix, Arizona
