By gawd! OSEES, the frantic psychedelic punk band led by the endlessly prolific one-man underground rock institution John Dwyer, will drop their new LP Intercepted Message next month, and we’ve already posted the album’s title track. Today, the band once known as Thee Oh Sees has followed that track with a trebly and insistent synth/guitars/drum attack called “Stunner.”
“Stunner,” the opening track from Intercepted Message is a chaotic jumble that constantly threatens to fall apart but holds together through sheer velocity. The band’s energy and stop-start dynamics simply don’t exist anywhere else, and it’s always a blast to hear them in rocker mode. “Stunner” is the sort of song that might make you want to kick someone in the stomach, spin around, grab them in a headlock, and then violently sit down. In the video, director Matt Yoka captures the band, all wearing cameras, doing their double-drummer attack in a crowded practice space. Here’s what John Dwyer says about it.
they’re not so bad for you
all of those drugs you do
and in the future you, find something else to do
they’re looking up to you
you looks so beautiful
sick, fix up in the queue
so, now let’s all review’
Life is a short hot mess
take a breath in the moments when you’re not taking it right in the face
frenetic tunes for scattered times
Matt Yoka came up with the idea of filming us playing the song in our rehearsal space with as many people as we could fit
and as many formats as he could stomach.
Hi vis on all the kids
Constricted & claustrophobic just as contemporary routines can be
Noise, obstacle and pointless spectacle
There is no escape!
good luck
Check out the “Stunner” video here.
Intercepted Message is out 8/18 on In The Red. stereogum.osees-intercepted-message