[Thee] Oh Sees - Orc REVEW

Usually, I'd start a record review with a brief discussion of where this album fits into the overall stylistic evolution of a genre. But, unfortunately, that's not quite possible here. It might not occur to most people, but psychedelic rock is one of the longest-lived extant styles of rock music in total. With a genesis in the mid-to-late 1960s, psych rock outstripes even heavy metal, which in fact diverged from the former at the dawn of the 1970s. As such, placing a modern psych rock release into context in the nearly 55-year history of the genre is exceedingly difficult, since psych rock has been in a continuous state of evolution even as it has influenced every subsequent style of rock to come after. While that sounds like a nightmare for someone trying to write a retrospective of psych rock, it's actually incredibly freeing - the genre's monolithic influence and history are so diverse, so omnipresent, that almost any artist, band, or project purveying it can, in most cases, be considered in a near-vacumn, connected only to their direct influences.

Enter Oh Sees, formally with a "Thee" in front of their name, an exceedingly prolific psych rock act out of San Fransisco that have been putting out at least one record a year without fail since 2008. Orc, their thirteenth album in nine years, sees the band purveying breakneck, fuzzed-out rock riffs that competes with phantasmagoric interludes, during which the band toys with psychedelic arrangements. The interplay between both, reminiscent of Australian band King Gizzard and the Lizzard Wizzard, helps to break up the record's seeming endless barrage of top-tier riffs. Orc's first half is an angular, unpredictable listen that left me surprised on my first listen multiple times. The mid-track tempo-change on 'Keys to the Castle', where the band veers from mid-range groovy guitarwork into a much slower, drum-dominant section, and finally into a stoned raga-rock finale, nearly gave me whiplash.

Orc's second half, however, sees the band screeching to a halt abruptly, as 'Cadaver Dog' abruptly pulls the rug out from under the chugging riff-train, and the band recommences at a glacial pace. Penultimate track 'Drowned Beast' is the record at its most torpid, as the thick guitar leads grind to a near-halt, hashing out and repeating themselves, with vocalist John Dwyer's vocals adopt a liquid, distorted twist. 

As with prior [Thee] Oh Sees outings, the band runs the gamut of different styles, influences, tempos, feelings, and textures, tied together by vocalist John Dwyer's vocals, which veer between gruff grunts and more intimate crooning. Despite sounding uniquely like themselves, sections on 'Nite Expo' echo Melt Banana's frenetic, unhinged, distorted assault; Orc kicks off with a pop-y distorted guitar line in the vein of the aforementioned King Gizzard on 'the Static God'; and the drone-y conclusion to 'Keys to the Castle', as the sitars collapse in on themselves, brings Earth's later records to mind. 'Jettison', which features intricate drumwork courtesy of Paul Quattrone, features a nearly jazz-like break in between distorted guitar lead licks. 'Cadaver Dog', which sees a Hammond Organ form the backdrop against which the guitars rage, is another altogether unique case.

In summary, Orc brings the sonic variety [Thee] Oh Sees have been known for throughout their prolific career. Orc appeals equally to my metal-honed riff-o-philia, as well as my soft spot for jam-tinted psych explorations. Comparisons to King Gizzard's Nonagon Infinity may be unavoidable, but in the absence of a King Gizz record able to top last year's output, Orc may be one of the finest fuzz-addled psych release of the year.

Orc will be released August 25th via Castle Face Records. The entire album can be streamed here.