Thee Oh Sees is one of those bands that consistently puts out genuinely innovative and interesting music on a regular basis, and they’re back again with another solid album. Lead singer/songwriter/guitarist John Dwyer is one of the hardest working people in music right now—leading Thee Oh Sees, running his label Castle Face, and putting out miscellaneous side projects, like Damaged Bug—so it’s surprising that he had enough time to create another substantial album like A Weird Exits.
While A Weird Exits is very consistent with the rest of Thee Oh See’s discography, it shows how well the band has progressed and evolved through multiple lineup changes and almost 20 years of existence. This album experiments more with extended jams (especially on “Jammed Entrance”, obviously), as opposed to the short and to-the-point garage gems on their previous albums. “Ticklish Warrior” is a powerful pseudo-ballad that sounds big enough to fill a stadium, while “The Axis” is a glitchy, T.Rex-esque love song that closes the album perfectly. A Weird Exits takes risks without being too inaccessible, but it also acts as a stepping stone between the classic psych-garage albums of the past and the (maybe? possibly?) more experimental albums of the future. Either way, give this album a listen.
Recommended If You Like: Ty Segall, Meatbodies, Fuzz, Jay Reatard, King Gizzard
Recommended Tracks: 2 (Ticklish Warrior), 4 (Plastic Plant), 5 (Gelatinous Cube)
Do Not Play: None
Written by Caroline Roe on 08/29/2016
