THEE OH SEES Vinyl & CDs

Review: John Dwyer is rapidly approaching the level of modern-day icon, after years of hammering out the jams in insalubrious basements with the likes of Coachwhips, The Hospitals, Yikes and around 467 other bands. Thee Oh Sees may remain his most accessible outfit to date, but on the evidence of 'A Weird Exits', there's no danger of him diluting his garage-fuelled attack any time soon - indeed, herein he can be found extrapolating the band's trademark fury via trips to the stratosphere awash with psychedelic abandon and krautrock radiance. All told, another triumph for a modern day master in the Spinal Tap-approved fine line between clever and stupid.

Review: Originally established as an outlet for founder and core member John Dwyer to explore home recordings, The Oh Sees soon grew into a full live band, who quickly picked up acclaim not just for their excellent musical abilities - straddling garage, post punk, noise, art rock and more - but also aesthetic wit, prolificacy, and deft ability to keep switching things up without looking like they were lost.
In 2013, it was announced that a hiatus was coming, but this lasted very little time at all - a record followed in 2014, and the group toured as a three-piece, sans Dwyer, for a little while. He then rejoined in 2015, driving that when something is good it's hard to say no. Skip to today, and they've released well over 20 LPs, but while studio work is quality, it's the live shows that really make an impact. Here's one, which proves exactly what we mean.