Sunday night at The Hemlock in San Francisco, don't miss another chance to see Thee Oh Sees in their natural habitat as they rise into the twilight with their dreamy songs that fit perfectly with your inevitable hangover pains. Although many of you know the name John Dwyer from his previous notorious three-piece, the Coachwhips, it may come as surprise that his softer side rises to the surface with such grace and style like it does so well in Thee Oh Sees recordings. Originally known simply as OCS, or Orinoka Crash Suite, it was started as an instrumental vehicle for Dwyer's restless energy, and five albums later, it's been transformed into the real deal, complete with perfect dueling male/female vocals that give the songs such a magical touch, you'll be scratching your arms in frustration as to why you haven't found out about them sooner. Lead vocalist Brigid Dawson's ghostly cadence, aligned perfectly parallel with Dwyer's voice, drift eerily into a deceptively evil-tinged folk territory not too far off from kindred spirits Josephine Foster and Gris Gris, but instead, drag the entire band into a murkier and ill-sitting state of mind that has miraculously stuck itself into my soft skull, and just won't let go. Their latest album, Sucks Blood, on Dwyer's own Castle Face label, is a harrowing and euphoric ride through the noisy yet breezy clouds of wonder and sits as their best sounding recording so far, which actually translates live quite effectively as their video clips depict. Pick up a copy of the album from the band directly, or through Aquarius mailorder. Opening the show are Dark Meat and Conspiracy of Beards, so find it in yourself to pry your ass off the couch and check these guys out this Sunday.
check out a video clip of Thee Oh Sees from a show at The Cake Shop in NYC, in May 2007...
