Orc

"With their latest full-length, and a minor name change, John Dwyer's garage-punk band continues to travel further toward rock's outer limits".

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"On their 400th album in the last two years, one might assume that the Oh Sees might be running out of steam. Maybe they would be out of ideas, lacking fire or retreading ground previously trod to the point of being worn out. Nope, none of that. Orc is another classic Oh Sees album that shows no signs of wear and tear anyplace in the operation. About half the record is made up of songs that are a white-hot blast of blown-out guitars, dual drummers bashing the living snot out of their kits, a bassist trying to hold it all together in the middle of a hurricane, and John Dwyer yelping like he just put his hand down on a hot stove. The other half is split between thudding heavy metal that comes complete with proggy organ breakdowns ("Animated Violence"), creepy art rock that showcases Dwyer's spookiest vocals ("Jettison"), tracks that impinge on the synth rock of Dwyer's Damaged Bug alter ego ("Paranoise"), and two songs that feature long codas with violin ("Keys to the Castle")anddrum ("Raw Optics") solos".

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"Orc is the 19th studio album that Oh Sees have released under Dwyer's watch, and the trip seems nowhere close to being over; like any good fantasy or sci-fi dynasty, it seems as though it could go on forever, stretching into a distant and indeterminate psychedelic horizon. Fans who have joined the ride at some point in the past 20 years will no doubt be delighted with the dense, stomping chapter found in Orc, though newcomers might feel like they've wandered into a story very much in progress and may be more compelled by some of the band's earlier records".

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