Osees Protean Threat & Shows # 849, 848, 847

John Dwyer’s Oh Sees put out their 23rd album, Protean Threat on September 18th via Castle Face Records. Now going by the name Osees (previously known as Thee Oh Sees, OCS, Oh Sees, etc.), this album showcases the mutating sounds of a band with a mesmerizing creative drive. Protean Threat features scuzzy psych-punk and trippy garage sounds, while also incorporating elements of jazz, kraut rock, prog and synthesizers. Although it sounds very much like Osees, Protean Threat propels with an unquenchable intensity as it ebbs and flows throughout the albums thirteen tracks.

Protean Threat starts off with the fuzz and scuzz driven “Scramble Suit II”, sounding somewhere between In Utero-era Nirvana, 70s hard rock and psych rock. The song also features synthesizers that sound like horns that puncture the rhythms and opening moments of this album. With lyrics such as “I see an eye within your eye/You seem distraught/It would imply/I know you/I feel recall within your view”,“A waking kind of nightmare” and “Unsure how you got here” Dwyer delves into the fears of our modern times without being obvious about it as they creep into your mind in-between the unrelenting riffs of "Scramble Suit II". “Dreary Nonsense” is a fuzzy punk track in the spirit of songs found on Carrion Crawler/The Dream and Floating Coffin, while at the same time it offers something new, albeit at a brief pace, “Upbeat Ritual” brings down the pace a bit, but not the intensity. With its space rock synthesizers and mesmerizing drum grooves, the bass skulks along with the song as razor sharp guitar riffs slice through between lyrics that conjure up a heightening awareness. “Red Study” delivers an unshakable performance and cosmic energy. With psych driven guitar and a Can-like funkiness, this song along with words such as “I'm gonna tell a lie/Look you in the eye/I can't spin a truthful tale/So no use in trying” delve even further into the subversive, yet new found energy of John Dwyer and Osees.

Sludgy and hyper Black Sabbath riffs penetrate track five of Protean Threat. “Terminal Jape” is a heavy burnt out psych track with lyrics such as “Future youth do conspire/Facelessness is key/Cloak your flag, dissimulate/Divert, disguise, mislead” that call for a subversive rebellion against an oppressive system. “Wing Run” provides a ethereal instrumental break that travels with floating synthesizers similar to songs found on 2016’s A Weird Exits and An Odd Entrance. “Said The Shovel” sucks the listener into its funky garage-psych void. The song slithers along as it reaches organ driven interludes while cryptic lyrics provide horror imagery. “Mizmuth” transports the listener back into a fuzzy abyss. In-between the spasms of guitar and dub/space rock synthesizer pulsations, the double drum attack of Dan Rincon and Paul Quattrone really show the undeniable creative energies of Osees. “If I Had My Way” harkens back to Thee Oh Sees early garage jangle aesthetic. With this new lineup the song also adds new subtle jazz and prog influences into Osees sound. When released as a single John Dwyer had this to say of the song: “Looking at all the extraordinary death in the world now you have to wonder, have you lived your best life? It’s never too late to start.”

“Toadstool” delves into psychedelic jam territory with its use of wah-wah and space. It pulls from some of the ingredients on 2019’s Face Stabber, but exits before it overstays its welcome. “Gong Catastrophe” digs into a double drum dynamic. Guitar and bass play in just the right places while the lyrics simmer with images of societal collapse, immorality, rulers and other apocalyptic and gothic imagery. “Canopnr ‘74” wobbles in a laid back psychedelic trip. Mixing in synthesizers and futuristic sounding basslines from Tim Hellman and lyrics such as “Fickle and frustrated/I'm plentiful with enzymes/No imagination/I'm coming on strong/I'm coming up,” Dwyer displays a general agitation with the world around him. “Persuaders Up!” comes in with a frenzied attack as Protean Threat’s closing track. “Persuaders Up!” ties in the scuzziness that runs throughout the album with hyper energy and futuristic synthesizers that sound like accelerating pinball machines. All of this is combined with a lyrical optimism.

In the opening moments of Protean Threat, Osees rush out of the gate with “Scramble Suit II”, referencing the identity, shape-shifting disguises in Phillip K. Dick’s A Scanner Darkly. With this in mind, Osees use cryptic literary references and abstract lyrics. Cloaked in reverb and other vocal effects at times, the lyrics often offer subversive commentary without bashing you over the head with it. The music too shifts and mutates into new forms drawing on the band’s previous and current musical explorations. With Protean Threat, Osees keep you on your toes musically as they explore the at times terrifying and ever-changing world that surrounds us.

Show 849 (Originally Aired On October 3rd, 2020):(Osees, Coriky, King Khan, The Neptunas, Paul Jacobs):

1.  Coriky - Clean Kill 

2.  Coriky - Have A Cup Of Tea 

3.  Spectres - Years of Lead 

4.  Will Butler - Bethlehem 

5.  Tommy and The Commies - One Arch Town 

6.  Itchy Self - God Bless The Ego 

7.  The Famines - Stay Home Club 

8.  Women - Everyone Is So In Love With You 

9.  Dehd - Nobody 

10. Self-Cut Bangs - Perfect Posture 

11. Les Hays Babies - Limonade 

12. Connie Marchand - Le Belle Putain 

13. King Khan - Wait Till The Stars Burn 

14. The Neptunas - Shark Tooth Necklace 

15. The Neptunas - The Abyss 

16. Mexican Knives - Echo 

17. Pottery - What's In Fashion? 

18. Tough Age - Anti-Anxiety Exercises 

19. Westlaken - The August Song 

20. Bloodshot Bill - Got To Love Me 

21. Dana Gavanski - Never Too Far 

22. The Breeders - Drivin' On 9 

23. They Might Be Giants - Snowball In Hell 

24. Kurt Vile - How Lucky (Ft. John Prine) 

25. John Prine - Crooked Piece Of Time 

26. Eroders - Bag It Up 

27. Osees - Electric War 

28. Osees - If I Had My Way 

29. Osees - Canopnr '74 

30. Paul Jacobs - Coffee 

31. Paul Jacobs - Electric Dollar

To hear this program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and click the October 3 file to download/stream the episode.

Show 848 (Originally Aired On September 26th, 2020)(Neil Young, The Rolling Stones Goats Head Soup Reissue, Jonny West, Daniel Romano's Outfit):

1. Osees - Dreary Nonsense
2. Os Haxixins - Onde Meditar
3. Secret Agent - Desert Mission
4. CARLO - Surficide
5. The Plmisouls - When You Find Out
6. Neil Young - Try
7. Neil Young - We Don't Smoke It No More
8. Neil Young - Southern Man
9. Elliot Brood - Stay Out
10. Ron Leary - Musicians Make Great Construction Workers
11. Johnny West - Milk That Expires On Your Birthday
12. Johnny West - When The Bottom Falls Out
13. James O-L - Plain Clothes Boxer
14. Tymon Dogg - Locks & Bolts & Hinges
15. Idles - Model Village
16. Bob Mould - American Crisis
17. Shame - Alphabet
18. METZ - Blind Youth Industrial Park
19. Fontaines D.C. - Love Is The Main Thing
20. The Rolling Stones - Dancing With Mr. D (1973 Glyn Johns Mix)
21. The Rolling Stones - Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) (2020 Mix)
22. The Rolling Stones - Scarlet
23. Jimmy Page - She Just Satisfies
24. Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Vicarious Living
25. Daniel Romano's Outfit - Green Eye Shade
26. The Flaming Lips - Flowers of Neptune Number 9
27. Thurston Moore - Cantaloupe
28. Yves Tumor - Medicine Burn
29. The Zeros - Wimp

To hear this program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and click the September 26 file to download/stream the episode.

Show 847 (Originally Aired On September 19th, 2020)(Toots & The Maytals, Justin Townes Earle, Paul Collins, Beat, Protomartyr, Teenanger):

1.  Toots & Maytals - Funky Kingston
2.  Toots & Maytals - Louie Louie
3.  Toots & Maytals - 54-46 (That's My Number)
4.  The Specials - Monkey Man
5.  The Clash - Pressure Drop
6.  Toots & Maytals- Got To Be Tough
7.  Paul Collin's Beat - Let's Go!
8.  Leland Sundries - The Hills
9.  Barnacle - Smash
10. Kestrels - Vanishing Point
11. Favours - She Is Soul
12. Protomartyr - Day Without End
13. Protomartyr - The Aphorist
14. Desgraciados - Sin Manana
15. Cellos - Blight
16. Psychic Void - Boneshaker
17. Justin Townes Earle - Lone Pine Hill
18. Justin Townes Earle - Wanderin'
19. Reigning Sound - Pretty Girl
20. Melody Fields - Rhymes of Goodbye
21. King Khan - I Love To Boogie
22. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Cosmic Dancer
23. T.Rex - Baby Boomerang
24. Bill Callahan - Another Song
25. Sameer Cash - Keep Kicking
26. Leonard Cohen - Blessed Is The Memory
27. Smog - Cold Blooded Old Times
28. Teenanger - Romance For Sale

To hear this program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and click the September 19 file to download/stream the episode.