Oh Sees
Orc
[Castle Face Records]
Orc marks John Dwyer’s 20th year releasing records as Thee Oh Sees/ Oh Sees/ OCS/ Orinoka Crash Suite/Orange County Sound and other related monikers. Dwyer’s take on maniacal, motorik garage rock has always been unabashed in the inspiration drawn from distinctly retro touchstones. Yet, seeing the project’s vintage in such concrete terms is still surprising.
Established elder statesmen as he may be, Dwyer’s prominence still feels a relatively recent development. He and his overdriven, psychedelia-informed ilk’s arrival at the fore of rock discussion feels like a reaction to both mainstream indie’s slow march toward toothless dinner party soundtracking and our poptimist cultural climate’s continued degradation of tropes associated with “rockist” presentation.
Orc finds Dwyer, more than ever before, leaning into the aforementioned rockist trappings – the abundant solos showcasing soaring arpeggios, Dwyer occasionally adopting a strangely hissed glamrock register in his vocals; there’s even a drum solo on here.
Yet, as in all of his work, none of this feels remotely rote. There’s no small pleasure in seeing Dwyer reacquaint himself with some sludge following the more experimental excursions that were his last two, exemplary, sister records – A Weird Exits and An Odd Entrances.
Beginning at a point of shred-happy metallic riffing, Orc expands in scope over its runtime, gradually, and ultimately satisfyingly, revealing the tender grooviness beneath it’s beastly exterior.
Words – Danny Wilson
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