Thee Oh Sees:Castlemania

6.7/10 dropps

A band that reaches for its boundaries with every new release is one of the nicest around. Every year or so a group leaps, critiques, and meets somewhere between multiple genres to hit areas that are somehow freshly brisk yet warming in their familiarity. Every piece is a new surprise, but consistent and enjoyable. One of the bands that have found their niches in the indescribable area surrounded by an array of influences is Thee Oh Sees. Originally John Dwyer’s (member of bands such as Coachwhips and The Hospital) solo project, Thee Oh Sees has spanned several albums and serves as Dwyer’s apparent outlet for his country and psychedelic tendencies. I guess when you play lots of punk and noise rock, you also want to find something a tad bit softer to help keep the throat in tact.

Speaking of throats, Dwyer’s sound is pretty much gone on the new album , “Castlemania”. I’m not sure if it’s intentional or the flesh can only take so much, but it sounds like his larynx was buried for a week in a lonely Texas desert and recovered just in time to be put on ice and returned to its seemingly unworried owner… which is great.

Just like Thee Oh Sees is a extension of a central creative force, the album itself is an extension of possible sounds fitting for a band such as theirs. If you are familiar with them, think of “Castlemania” as a somewhat middle ground of their earlier soft albums and their junior and senior releases of distorted garage rock. “Castlemania” is filled with acoustic guitars quickly strumming to primitive punk rhythms. It’s fast in ways you wouldn’t immediately pick up on, but would feel, particularly through an uneasiness that accompanies a brain not quite ready to take on this kind of speed. Once you find it though, it can be thoroughly invigorating for any sort of activity a listener chooses to focus on while partaking in life’s finest of creative arrangements.

If this is your first encounter with Thee Oh Sees, I can you might find a little difficulty sticking with ya. This album isn’t as jarring as others can be, and it’s not too hard to imagine that this album will stay below radar. But, if you are looking for a band that has a firm understanding of Americana and rock music from the Fightin’ Fifties to the early Nineties, Thee Oh Sees got it. While remaining stylistic and sounding adrift from the crowd, most of “Castlemania” is heavily comprised and reminiscent of the ‘shit our parents listened to’, whether it be from Lou Reed, to the Beatles, to the Clash. Take a little bit of that and add a ridiculous amount of reverb, and you are entering Thee Oh Sees’ ballpark. Prepare yourself for simplistic song construction and walk-ups along the chromatic scale abound. Also, as a fair warning, every song on this album has basically the same ending: a guitar randomly plucked as the other available hand quickly strolls up the neck for a measure. It’s fitting, though.

by Dustin Toney