WHO ARE THEY? L.A. garage-rock weirdo John Dwyer and his ever-changing band of many similar names — including Thee Oh Sees, OCS, The Oh Sees, Oklahoma Crash Suite, Orange County Sound and probably some other ones he hasn’t told us about yet.
WHAT IS THIS? His/their 22nd manic episode of musical madness: A sprawling 80-minute double album constructed from prog-metal oddities that clock in anywhere from 94 seconds to 21 minutes.
WHAT DOES IT SOUND LIKE? In his own words: “Fried prog burn out, squished old-school drool, double drums, lead weight bass, wizard keys (now with poison), old-ass guitar and horrible words with daft meanings.” Yeah, that tracks.
WHAT WOULD BE A BETTER TITLE FOR THIS ALBUM? Rule Ignorer. Status Quo Slayer. Time Melter. Brain Imploder. Sanity Pillager.
HOW SHOULD I LISTEN TO IT? With your phone, email and other distractions turned off so you can fully embrace Dwyer and co.’s ability to dance like bong-loaded angels upon the head of the pin thrust squarely into the line between genius and lunacy.
WHAT 10 WORDS DESCRIBE IT? Unbridled, audacious, druggy, epic, mesmerizing, difficult, intense, experimental, mischievous, potent.
WHAT ARE THE BEST SONGS? It’s really more of a multi-dimensional journey than a playlist of ditties. But you might want to start with some of the shorter compositions and work your way up so you don’t strain yourself.
WHAT WILL MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY SAY? ‘How long has this song been going on anyway?’
HOW OFTEN WILL I LISTEN TO THIS? Not as often as you might — if only because it takes so long to get through the damn thing.
IF THIS ALBUM WERE DRUGS, WHAT KIND OF DRUGS WOULD IT BE? All of them. At once. Injected directly into your eyeball.
SHOULD I BUY, STREAM OR STEAL IT? You can’t complain about not getting enough bang for your buck.
