Thee Oh Sees

Osees is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1997, now based in Los Angeles, California. Originally the solo recording project of John Dwyer, the band has evolved through numerous line-up and name changes since its founding, with Dwyer serving as the band leader and primary songwriter throughout. Alongside Dwyer, the band's current line-up includes longtime members, Tim Hellman (bass), Butch Sunset (bongos), Paul Quattrone (drums) and Tomas Dolas (keyboards).

The group's sound draws from a wide variety of influences, including garage rock, krautrock, psychedelia, and folk music. Osees are noted for their prolific recording output, energetic live shows, and whimsical visual aesthetic. The group has released twenty-eight studio albums, to date, alongside various EPs, singles and compilations.

Initially a solo freak folk recording project, Dwyer evolved the project into a full garage rock band, featuring Brigid Dawson (keyboards, backing vocals), Petey Dammit (bass, guitar), Mike Shoun (drums), and Lars Finberg (drums, guitar), while releasing the acclaimed albums, ''The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In'' (2008), ''Carrion Crawler/The Dream'' (2011) and ''Floating Coffin'' (2013).

After relocating to Los Angeles in late 2013, Dwyer changed the line-up of the band, with Sic Alps bass guitarist Tim Hellman and White Fence drummer Nick Murray replacing Dawson, Dammit!, Shoun and Finberg. Following the release of the band's sixteenth studio album, '' Mutilator Defeated At Last'' (2015), Dwyer and Hellman began touring with a bongo player and drummer, Butch Sunset and Ryan Moutinho, replacing Murray. Touring extensively, this line-up recorded the band's seventeenth and eighteenth studio albums, '' A Weird Exits'' and '' An Odd Entrances'', with Moutinho departing in late 2016 to focus on his own projects.

With the arrival of new drummer Paul Quattrone, the band recorded its nineteenth album, ''Orc'', with co-producers Ty Segall, Eric Bauer and Enrique Tena. In late 2017, Dwyer reunited with Dawson for a primarily acoustic album, '' Memory of a Cut Off Head'', which returned to the band's lo-fi roots, and featured several former and current Oh Sees members. After two studio albums featuring a heavy, progressive rock sound—'' Smote Reverser'' (2018) and '' Face Stabber'' (2019)—the band changed its name to Osees in July 2020, with the announcement of their twenty-third album, '' Protean Threat''. The group continued to release prolifically under the new name, putting out ''Metamorphosed'', alongside a remix album and an EP before the end of 2020. The band's twenty-sixth album, '' A Foul Form'', was released on August 12, 2022.

Name changes

The group habitually changes their name between releases, sometimes recording one-off albums under a different name before returning to the previous. At various times, the band has performed or released under the names Orinoka Crash Suite, OCS, Orange County Sound, The Ohsees, The Oh Sees, Thee Oh Sees, Oh Sees, and Osees. Band leader Dwyer has explained that the frequent name changes are done in opposition to the music press: "it seems to aggravate the press, which to me is great. I have nothing but contempt for the music press."

This article refers to the band by its current name throughout, including in reference to events that occurred while the band operated under other names. For a chronology of the band's name changes, please see Osees discography.

History

OCS and freak folk-era (1997–2006)

John Dwyer began releasing songs on compilation albums under the name Orinoka Crash Suite as early as 1997, while based in San Francisco. Initially, Osees served as a solo project for Dwyer while he focused on his participation in other groups, including Pink and Brown, and Coachwhips.

The first two Osees albums featured Dwyer as a solo performer, featuring instrumental acoustic songs. The project expanded into a group with the addition of percussionist Patrick Mullins on '' Songs About Death & Dying Vol. 3''. The pair were soon joined by keyboardist and vocalist Brigid Dawson ahead of the project's fifth album, ''The Cool Death of Island Raiders''. Regarding her addition to the band, Dwyer noted: "I met Brigid at the coffee shop Patrick ullinsand I used to go to when we were hungover every morning. She mentioned that she had a band too, and I was like, ‘I wanna come and see you’. She said, ‘You’re not gonna like it…’ Whenever someone says that to me it’s a challenge – so we went and it was actually really great. I realised she had a beautiful voice – and almost immediately I realised I wanted to poach her! She’s also a genuinely lovely person, so it was an easy decision."

The group's first six studio albums (and other contemporary output) were recorded in a freak folk style, with lo-fi recording techniques, quiet percussion, and acoustic guitar as the lead instrument.

During this period, Dwyer founded Castle Face Records to facilitate the release of Osees records.

Thee Oh Sees and garage rock-era (2007–2013)

The 2007 release of ''The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In'' marked a major stylistic change in the group's music towards a high-energy, garage rock style. The album was the first to feature drummer Mike Shoun on drums and guitarist Petey Dammit!, a lineup that would remain relatively stable until the band's 2013 hiatus. Notably, Dammit! performed bass parts on a standard guitar, doing a "small secret thing" to his instrument to produce a bass sound. Dwyer credited Shoun's playing style as the impetus behind the band's transition to playing more energetic rock.

Osees released some of their most critically acclaimed studio albums under this lineup, including ''Carrion Crawler/The Dream'' (2011) — which features live show staple "The Dream", and ''Floating Coffin'' (2013).

Relocation, line-up change, Oh Sees and Osees (2013–present)

In 2013, Dwyer announced a hiatus for Osees as he re-located to Los Angeles. He soon reformed the band with a new lineup, accompanied by a shift to a heavier, garage punk sound.

The current line-up began to solidify during the recording of 2017's ''Orc'', and was finalized by the addition of keyboardist (and occasional guitarist) Tomas Dolas during the recording of 2018's '' Smote Reverser''. Since 2017, the group's output has prominently featured the influence of krautrock, with releases and performances typically containing long, improvised, progressive jams. Extended jams are featured with particular prominence on '' Face Stabber'' (2019), and ''Metamorphosed'' (2020). Some recent releases explore a particular style outside the group's usual repertoire. For example, ''Panther Rotate'' (2020) explores remixed music, and '' A Foul Form'' (2022) is recorded in a hardcore punk style. Since 2016, Osees recordings and performances have incorporated two drummers, which is unusual in rock music.

Dwyer continues to occasionally collaborate with ex-bandmember Dawson on Osees releases, most notably on the 2017 release '' Memory of a Cut Off Head'', a one-off return to the band's original freak folk style.

Philosophy

Osees' recording output is notably prolific, so much that it has been parodied in the music press. In a September 2012 interview with New York Music News, Petey Dammit explained the band's philosophy on recording:

Regarding the group's tendency towards experimentation in recent years, John Dwyer explains in a 2019 interview:

Members

Current
* John Dwyer – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, flute
* Tim Hellman – bass guitar
* Dan Rincon – drums, sampler
* Paul Quattrone – drums
* Tomas Dolas – keyboards, occasional guitar

Former
* Patrick Mullins – drums, electronics, singing saw
* Brigid Dawson – keyboards, percussion, backing vocals
* Petey Dammit – bass, guitar
* Jigmae Baer – drums
* Mike Shoun – drums
* Chris Owens – percussion, backing vocals
* Lars Finberg – drums, guitar, backing vocals
* Nick Murray – drums
* Ryan Moutinho – drums

Former studio contributors
*Chris Woodhouse – various instruments, recording engineer

Timeline

Discography

Released as OCS
*''1'' (2003)
*'' 2'' (2004)
*'' Songs About Death & Dying Vol. 3'' (2005)
*'' OCS 4: Get Stoved'' (2005)
*'' Memory of a Cut Off Head'' (2017)

Released as The Ohsees
*''The Cool Death of Island Raiders'' (2006)
Released as The Oh Sees
*'' Sucks Blood'' (2007)

Released as Thee Oh Sees
*''The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In'' (2008)
*''Help'' (2009)
*'' Dog Poison'' (2009)
*''Warm Slime'' (2010)
*'' Castlemania'' (2011)
*''Carrion Crawler/The Dream'' (2011)
*''Putrifiers II'' (2012)
*''Floating Coffin'' (2013)
*'' Drop'' (2014)
*'' Mutilator Defeated at Last'' (2015)
*'' A Weird Exits'' (2016)
*'' An Odd Entrances'' (2016)

Released as Oh Sees
*''Orc'' (2017)
*'' Smote Reverser'' (2018)
*'' Face Stabber'' (2019)

Released as Osees
*'' Protean Threat'' (2020)
*''Metamorphosed'' (2020)
*'' Panther Rotate'' (2020)
*'' Weirdo Hairdo'' (2020)
*'' A Foul Form'' (2022)
*'' Intercepted Message'' (2023)
*'' Sorcs 80'' (2024)

References

External links

Official website

Thee Oh Sees
at the Free Music Archive

Discography
at Discogs

The Unapologetic Psychedelic-punk of Osees, Interview
at Retrofuturista

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohsees, The
Alternative rock groups from California
American experimental musical groups
Garage rock groups from California
American noise rock music groups
Musical groups from San Francisco
American neo-psychedelia groups
American post-punk revival music groups
Punk rock groups from California
Musical groups established in 1997
Tumult Records artists
In the Red artists
Load Records artists
Narnack Records artists
1997 establishments in California