THEE OH SEES
Dog Poison
In the two years I’ve been listening to Thee Oh Sees, I’ve gone back and bought up everything Dwyer’s done in this incarnation—over 15 objects (from two-song 7” records to LP and CD sets with 20-plus tracks). One thing they can’t be accused of is settling on a sound. Gone on this album are the fuzzed-off freakouts parts from Help, continuing on with a mellower, more Monkee-ish direction the band has hinted at on the dozen or so 7” releases since and given us a ten-song mini album of distorted, funky beach-pop. But it’s still definitely Thee Oh Sees. “Sugar Boat” is the nicest, most Beatlesy pop song they’ve done, and “I Can’t Pay You to Disappear” has that crazy echoed-distorto guitar thing that’s Dwyer’s sonic autograph (you’ll know what I mean when you hear it). The double-falsettos in “The Sun Goes All Around” are pretty, but they can’t help but make me laugh (check out The Hounds of Foggy Notion CD/DVD and you’ll find the humour). This album didn’t rock me like the last two did, and that’s OK; The Master’s Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In was a speed-fueled change from anything before, and Help pulled back a bit into the ’60s. Still, the band can do whatever they want and it always turns out fantastic. Pity it all clocks in at less than 25 minutes. People bitch and joke about quality, about how J.D. releases every song he records. To anyone who wants the band to keep putting out Master’s Bedroom, it’s happened already. Let go, move on. And who gives a shit what them kids say anyway? Thee Oh Sees are the best band alive. If they keep pressin’, I’ll keep buyin’! (Captured Tracks, www.capturedtracks.com) Patrick Michalishyn
Winnipeg music & culture since 1989