Credit: Mini Van Photography
It’s frustrating as a creative individual to wonder about where compulsive artists like Thee Oh Sees’ figurehead and contemporary psych-rock icon, John Dwyer, get the seemingly endless inspiration and energy to create from. It’s not so much that Dwyer is simply prolific — any jerkoff can release a ton of music these days — it’s that it’s always so damn good!
While Dwyer has created plenty of the most beloved albums in the Oh Sees’ massive canon in solitary, his most recent outing under the moniker — entitled Mutilator Defeated At Least — features performances by a crack new squad of collaborators (save for the return of longtime and recently departed member, Brigid Dawson) brought in after the most stable lineup of the group’s career disintegrated amid announcements of an extended hiatus. However, the hiatus was thankfully short-lived, and new records — including last year’s Drop and now, Mutilator…– have proven to be a reminder of just how lethal the Oh Sees can be — even this many albums deep — as the album has met almost universal acclaim from fans and critics alike.
New print for Thee Oh Sees by Nathaniel Deas! They will be available at Churchill’s in Miami and Crowbar in Tampa. This print is an homage to one of his favorite Wes Wilson designs and features fluorescent (black light reactive) and metallic silver inks.
Of the new conspirators present on Mutilator… drummer Nick Murray, of fellow Californian psych upstarts White Fence, is of special note, adding an exciting new layer of musical athleticism and tightness to the band’s sound without sacrificing the raucous (if controlled) sloppy bits that are so intrinsic to the band’s garage-rock charm. Unfortunately, Murray’s time as a touring member of the Oh Sees was brief, but Dwyer — seemingly aware of how hard it is to replace a player of that caliber — has since rounded out his touring band with two drummers, and when we took in the new group’s set at Levitation 2015 in Austin in May, we were absolutely floored by the power and energy the new lineup brought to old favorites and the new songs alike.
Thee Oh Sees will be hitting the legendary Churchill’s Pub in Miami on Wednesday, September 16, and the bill undoubtedly holds the potential to be one of the most insane shows of the year as it includes Miami’s favorite up-and-coming rockers Wastelands, and favored sons, Jacuzzi Boys, who have started teasing new material in recent weeks.
~ Von Bader
Find two free downloads by Thee Oh Sees on previous PureHoney compilations as well as video shot during Bruise Cruise!
