Insane synth-punk-disco hybrid with guaranteed fun.
Thee Oh Sees, Oh Sees, Osees – as often as the band from California changes their name, other people change their underwear. It’s similarly chaotic between hardcore, psychedelic and krautrock on the countless albums that singer and guitarist John Dwyer has recorded with constantly changing (you can see a pattern) band members. INTERCEPTED MESSAGE is now the 27th album in the band’s history, which lasted a similar number of years, and once again opens a new chapter in sound: it’s heading towards the 80s, synths and funky guitars.
Sometimes it reminds you of the art punk of Parquet Courts, like in “Die Laughing” with its breathless funk groove and rattling, beeping, beeping synthesizers, at other times it goes into high-speed disco with “Unusual & Cruel” – and that’s definitely part of it lots of pop appeal. This is most evident on “Always At Night”: A real languishing ballad with expansive synth textures, in which John Dwyer reveals an unusually tender side.
But don’t worry, it always remains slightly insane and consequently ends with a joke track: “LADWP Hold” is a joke at the expense of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s queue: “Your call is super-duper important to us” , says the bored canned voice over kitschy elevator music. This album might not be super duper important – but it’s a lot of fun.
Author: Elias Pietsch