Merrick Deneen
Staff Reporter
The San Francisco based psychedelic rock group Osees has always pushed the musical boundaries and their most recent album Protean Threat is no exception. Released just last week on September 18th it is a fuzz infused love letter to the 80’s progressive rock bands that contains a new surprise around every corner. Osees has released a very expansive catalog of music since their creation in 1997 under lead singer and guitar player John Dwyer. They have undergone 7 name changes and right now they can be found under the title Osees. Their sound has ridden an aggressive and distorted line between psych rock, garage rock, punk, and art rock.
Protean Threat is considered one of their more digestible and grounded albums, but this does little to help classify their musical formula in any way. The abnormal, broken riffs sit at the center of their songs and are circled by the two separate drummers that are pushing sonic limits on every track. The use of multiple synthesizers thickens the sound of the album and help refine Dwyer’s frantic playing. While it is easy to classify this band’s music as “avant-garde” they meticulously craft their songs through hours of practice and rehearsing. “Scramble Suit II” tosses you right into the madness with an aggressive and off kilter approach to melody and music.
“Dreary Nonsense” comes closer to Osees earlier catalog with a garage rock sound and Dwyer’s yelling. The faster and more energetic playing gives off vibes from fellow psych rock band, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizzard. “Upbeat Ritual” and “Red Study” are a couple of the bands more atmospheric songs with cryptic guitar riffs and melodic drums. “Terminal Jape” shows the bands love for the speed and angst of older punk bands without letting go of their artsy fartsy side. “Wing Run” shows off the synthesizers with tones barrowed from retro 80s keyboard tracks. “Said the Shovel” is a mellowed out pop infused song that might explode at any second. “If I Had My Way” pushes out the synth’s and the fuzz and adds groovy bass riff to throw back to the 70s funk era. Dwyer’s ability to come up with creative riffs can be heard on the bouncy, psyched out “Toadstool”.
Osees is a band that has been pushing sonic boundaries from the beginning. Their lack of compromise and abnormal views towards music shouldn’t have worked at all, but the fact that they don’t take themselves too seriously is one of the most crucial parts of their sound. Through all their success in the Seattle music scene and the alternative scene overall they haven’t lost sight of what’s most important. Which is just to have fun. Protean Threat is another great album by Osees and their upcoming album Panther Rotate is set to be released December 11th of this year.
Image Credit: glidemagazine.com
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