John Dwyer and co had always nodded heads towards a concept album – something slightly shifting from Thee Oh Sees but sticking with the same relentless rhythm. Omitting ‘Thee’ off the name of the band certainly sticks by the tattoo of Dwyer’s music and with Orc, his 19th album, the band don’t half deliver the same toddler-in-a-highchair abrasiveness.

Dwyer, who has been active since the late 90s has accumulated quite the pedigree in his time. Primarily the face of Castle Face Records and the creative force behind Thee Oh Sees, he has also operated in bands such as Coachwhips, Yikes, It’s Alive and Pink and Brown. Oh Sees are more of a ghastly outfit than Thee Oh Sees to an extent – building on last year’s A Weird Exits and An Odd Entrances, Dwyer is hell bent on dragging you, the listener, into his new structure, this time with twice the force and urgency.

Album opener, ‘The Static God’, recoils and lurches through a flurry of rhythm and Thee Oh Sees-archetypal frantic, squealing guitar. Completely toxic in how it attacks, Dwyer hurls through his trademark lyrical style – compact, fidgety vocals, half whispering, half stuttering as he requests cigarettes and discusses items of clothing. It paves the way nicely into the slightly hypnotic ‘Nite Expo’, full of whacked out synth that chime nicely behind spaced guitar parts, and into the juggernaut of ‘Animated Violence’.

The difference between Orc and 2016’s Thee Oh Sees material is how Dwyer now feels somewhat comfortable with the slower cuts from the album. ‘Cadaver Dog’ meanders around lethargic drum sections, perhaps finding a closer home with the likes of doom-rock and stoner-rock, previously occupied by the likes of Wand. Similarly, ‘Raw Optics’ hides behind John Bonham-styled drum sections and prog-rock fuses; at times the track strips back to pure cymbals also fills out to the far stretches of the full band. Dwyer’s knowledge behind dynamics is nothing new live, the jam sections always came across compelling and interesting when performed but, on album, it was seldom found previously and when it was, it often felt directionless. The jam sections now hold a force in their own right, acting as more of a segment of the song as opposed to a confused interlude.

Despite the progressiveness in experimentation, Orc is still smothered in Dwyer’s trademark type – ruthless guitar solos, lyrical hooks and complete transitions into all-out chaos, just see ‘Keys to the Castle’ for that. ‘Jettisoned’ too finds the middle ground between boisterous drum fills and a slight funk outlay – with instruments seemingly working off of one another to accentuate Dwyer’s mumble. ‘Jettisoned’ too stumbles into the world of 70s space-rock with guitar work spinning off of keys and a lethargic rhythm section.

‘Cooling Tower’ leads the way for the instrumental section of the album, Dwyer’s voice building to little more than a coy “oo”, delicately strung around guitar sections as if it was tinsel laid upon a festive tree. This leaves place then for ‘Drowned Beast’ – definitely the most chilling track on the album, a complete slumber. Sonically and visually the track sits furthest from material previously put together by Dwyer. This is by no means anything negative, instead it’s an enthralling piece of work that opens new doors for the music of Dwyer going forward – it builds into kaleidoscopic towers before collapsing into Thee Oh Sees-by-numbers fuzz.

For the majority of Dwyer fans, Orc will be no struggle to fall into. It poses little new asides from the occasional space-prog and slow jam but develops where Dwyer has occasionally struggled previously. It’s a tight album, it works like clockwork though into how it ties in fresh sounds and ideas with everything we’ve come to love from Dwyer. Double drummers Paul Quattrone and Dan Rincon stand out as particular highlights on the album, without them ‘Raw Optics’ would struggle, as would ‘The Static God’ and ‘Animated Violence’. It’s safe to say Oh Sees are a celebratory success and a very welcome addition.

Tom Churchill

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