It’s that time of the year when we get ready for the sonic assault that is OSEES. There are like at least 10 different iterations of the West Coast punk/garage/noise band with various spellings, but they all mean just one thing: LOUD. The OSEES leader, singer, guitarist, and general noise guru is John Dwyer. A multi-instrumentalist that acts as the Godfather of the garage rock scene which begat bands like King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Ty Segall, Jay Reatard, WAVVES, and the like. But where those bands tended to smooth out their sound as they went along Dwyer kept things weird and off-kilter. Adding wonky analog synths and robotic grooves for good measure.
If you’re new to the world of John Dwyer and OSEES, I wish you luck. Much like coming into Guided By Voices 30 years into their career, you’ve got your work cut out for you. But in this case, OSEES newest release is a good place to start and then you can work your way back. Dwyer and OSEES has left the weird sonic experimentations at the studio door. The new album, ABOMINATIONS REVEALED AT LAST, is loud and propulsive and has the band in fine punk rock form.
12 songs in 35 minutes, what you’re getting is lean, mean guitar squall and Dwyer barking lyrics covered in distortion and echo. There are no precious moments of reflection. It’s Sci-Fi-tinged aggression, buzzing electronics and punk rock attitude delivered from some other alternative reality.
“ABOMINATION” opens things up in a caffeinated BPM fury, towing the line between hardcore, metal, and something that sounds like humanity collapsing under its own anger. There there’s the funky “SNEAKER” that has the feeling of Devo and Pere Ubu connecting on a spiritual level. “INFECTED CHROME” sounds like a spooky score for some late night Creature Feature and 45 Grave as the main influence.
OSEES never relent here. From the hardcore brain bender “ASHES 2″(Dwyer’s vocals sounding like Wolfman Jack), to the West Coast punk explosion of “FIGHT SIMULATOR”, to the Gothic, glam grooves of “GLITTER SHOT”, OSEES never hold back and give us one of their most punk rock-adjacent records in a long time.
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