Oh Sees

Orc (2017)

RENALDO69

Dead are Thee Oh Sees and back are the Oh Sees. That aside, John Dwyer doesn't just push forth a name change for the sake of simply doing so. What he does is he attempts to reinvigorate the band's sound, not too much I might add, but just enough to make it a bit punchier than A Weird Exits. Spoiler alert: he achieves just that. Oddly enough, I've always felt this band needed fewer songs to get their point across on their records because so many albums have filler tracks that are really boring to me, and while that exists here on Orc, it's much less noticeable. Dwyer's recalibrated and while the range is wider, it feels like a tighter record.

I love how Dwyer and company mix the synth, buzz rock and distorted character the band's always had but this time, it's all done with so much more freedom and exploration. From the garage rock meets KISS meets soft metal vibe of "Animated Violence" to the slow reverb-drenched songs like "Cadaver Dog" and "Drowned Beast", what stands out is a band that isn't content to sit in any comfort zone whatsoever. Orc prides itself on these brave feats and it should come as no surprise to fans of old. But for the cynic like me, 'What took so long?' pops to mind. Every lick, riff and hook feels like Oh Sees are fresh out the fire and ready to cause havoc like never before, and this washes away the concerns (well, most of them) I had in the past.

Musically, this record stick to no particular style, as per the Afrobeat on "Paranoise" and by the time the closer "Raw Optics" rolls around -- which is more or less a drum solo -- you can't help but appreciate how daring and effortless the Oh Sees are in issuing this new statement. The flaws with this album, as I mentioned above, are that the middling tracks are so forgettable but all this filler aside, Orc is yet another solid offering intent on pushing limits.