Osees – ‘SORCS 80’ album review: the most tireless band in garage rock
THE SKINNY: Some artists spend years, even decades, crafting and perfecting an album, making sure every intricate detail from the cover artwork to the guitar tones is aligned with their intent. In contrast to that perfectionist attitude, groups like Osees have repeatedly shown that albums need not be a multi-year exploit, with the band pumping out more records than the golden age of Motown. Almost exactly a year since their last album, Intercepted Message, Osees have now unveiled their 29th studio album, entitled SORCS 80, which reaffirms John Dwyer’s reputation as the busiest man in garage rock.
Since first bursting onto the American DIY scene back in 1997, Dwyer and Osees have never really followed the crowd. Each and every record released by the group has pushed the boundaries of garage rock, incorporating a vast array of influences from neo-psychedelia to krautrock, reinventing the group in the process. In essence, though, Osees have always favoured adrenaline-fueled, blitzkrieg garage fuzz and SORCS 80 is no different. With the opening track ‘Look At The Sky’, the band immediately establish their musical manifesto, picking up where Intercepted Message left off.
Although the distinctive sound of Osees is quite captivating, there are multiple points on this record when the group are at serious risk of becoming repetitive and even stale. The inventiveness that Dwyer has become synonymous with takes a backseat to the somewhat formulaic nature of many of these songs. While there are some efforts to expand the band’s sound into longer, more subdued efforts like ‘Also the Gorilla..’ or ‘Lear’s Ears’, these tracks tend to fall flat. If you are making a song that is double the length of your usual effort, spending most of that runtime repeating yourself or building tension for a musical break that never arrives seems a waste.
Ultimately, the cult fanbase of Osees will likely be pretty content with SORCS 80, as it offers a deluge of the energetic, electronic, fuckless vitality that has fueled mosh pits for decades. However, there seems to be little here that hints at a long-term development in the band’s sound; in fact, the record often harks back to the sound of their earlier records, Mutilator Defeated at Last, which is particularly disappointing for a group that has always preached innovation over nostalgia—even if the nostalgia on offer is largely merit-worthy.
For fans of: Going on Hinge dates and spending the entire time mansplaining the importance of neo-psychedelic garage punk rock while drinking craft beer.
A concluding comment from Ben’s housemate: “This album makes me want to be stuck in a smelly room, drinking horrible lager, and making decisions which I will later come to regret. Good in the moment, questionable thereafter.”
SORCS 80 track by track:
Release date: August 9th | Producer: John Dwyer | Label: Castle Face Records.
‘Look At The Sky’: A raucous sonic assault that throws you into the deep end of Osees mania. There are no slow fade-ins or anticipation-building tracks to be found here. It is either 100 mph or completely still. [3/5]
‘Pixelated Moon’: Clearly taking its cues from the world of krautrock, this uneasy electronic track sees John Dwyer adopt a more melodic approach to fuzzy garage rock. As such, it is one of the more accessible tracks from the record. [3.5/5]
‘Drug City’: Mixing brooding electronica with brass, in the form of Brad Caulkin on saxophone, this track adds some much-needed diversity to the sound of SORCS 80, breaking up the adrenaline-fueled garage rock. [3.5/5]
‘Also The Gorilla…’: At four minutes long, this is virtually double the length of a standard Osees track, and unfortunately, that extra runtime is rarely taken advantage of. The song itself is very repetitive, to the point of becoming bland, and it offers very little originality. [2/5]
‘Termination Officer’: Again, this song offers little to note, featuring a lack of development or excitement. While it is not a particularly bad song, it feels fairly banal and forgettable within the incredible discography of Osees thus far. [2/5]
‘Blimp’: Leaning further into electronic and experimental influences heard earlier on in the tracklisting, this future-classic Osees track evokes cosmic exploration and sweaty mosh pits. It is a definite highlight from the record. [4/5]
‘Cochon D’Argent’: Translating to ‘Silver Pig’, this song is a good encapsulation of the chaos and energy at the heart of this modern incarnation of Osees. While it does not feel like the most original effort from the album, there is a sense of organic improvisation in this song, which is particularly refreshing. [3.5/5]
‘Cassius, Brutus, and Judas’: This track feels like the natural continuation of the previous song, carrying on the infectious electronic beats and a seemingly endless reservoir of energy from Dwyer. [3.5/5]
‘Zipper’: The retro vocal effect employed on this song harks back to the golden age of The Strokes, but the music itself feels more closely associated with the early 2000s garage rock revival. Either way, it is certainly not the most inspiring effort by Osees. [2.5/5]
‘Lear’s Ears’: Slowing things down somewhat, this song is effective in building tension and anticipation, but it never really goes anywhere. Another four-minute track that just ends without anything particularly interesting happening. [1.5/5]
‘Earthling’: Although, at this point in the record, many of these songs are beginning to sound the same, Dwyer’s crooning Peter Murphy-esque vocal delivery on this track gives it a certain power that is undeniable, even if the music is quite repetitive. [3.5/5]
‘Plastics’: Harking back to the earlier sounds of Osees, particularly on songs like ‘Rogue Planet’, this is a fitting penultimate track to the record – which has relied mainly on Osees’ pre-existing reputation while not offering much new. [3/5]
‘Neo-Clone’: Just as the album opener threw listeners into the deep end of Osees’ distinctive sound, the closing track introduces audiences to just how overblown and overproduced the band are capable of being. The vision was certainly there, but ‘Neo-Clone’ unfortunately falls flat. [2.5/5]
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