Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SAY WHAT YOU SEE
AMERICAN PSYCHE ROCKERS OH SEES ANNOUNCE LIMELIGHT DATE THIS MAY WIN TICKETS TO SEE CHVRCHES AT THE ULSTER HALL! FINGER PICKING GOOD
They’re 21 years on the go and in many ways US rockers Oh Sees have come of age. Since their conception in 1997, John Dwyer’s garage outfit have evolved subtly – or sometimes not so subtly – with name changes and line-up changes a common occurrence.
They’ve been Orinoka Crash Suite (OCS), The Oh Sees, Thee Oh Sees and now just plain old Oh Sees, all riffs on a theme.
And, while the personnel may have shifted, the core of the group Dwyer has remained static. And again just as the music has changed, slipping effortlessly from extremely heavy punk-tinged rock and roll to the merely quite heavy punked-tinged rock and roll, with some sublime 60s influenced psyche in the mix, the central premise of stonking songs on an r&b bent remains. They’ve evolved, yes, but into an even-better version of what they always were. And for a band as prolific as Dwyer’s (roughly an album every year though some years are doubled up!) keeping such a high and consistent standard is a pretty tough gig. But he pulls it off with seeming ease, such is his creative urgency and unflinching dedication to his art. Songs such as I Come From CRAFTING songs with big synths and bigger hooks, Chvrches combine their roots in Glasgow’s indie community.
The band features former members of Aerogramme and the Twilight Sad, with a love of chart-friendly pop.
They made an immediate impact on the music scene with 2013’s bittersweet-yet-anthemic debut album The Bones of What You Believe, and later found ways of bringing an extra sheen to their music without sacrificing any of its depth.
On last year’s Love Is Dead, their The Mountain, from 2013’s Floating Coffin album, sound like a souped-up B-52s while Drowned Beast, from 2018’s Orc, nods at
Black Sabbath at least in the monstrous riffage and dark subject matter. There are big guitars, and heavy, trippy synths swirling in a menacing arabesque. An
Odd Entrances, the 2016 companion album to A
Weird Exits, was perhaps the most dedicated move into pysch-rock territory. It’s heady stuff and an interesting diversion from the straight-up rock and roll.
Generally, though, Oh Sees are at their best doing what Dwyer just. The guitars are cranked up, the drums pound and the bass carries everything along just so.
In some ways Dwyer is like a younger, San Francisco version of Billy Childish, rigidly sticking to his first love – and his band is all the better for it. From debut album 1, in the OCS incarnation, through to latest release Smote Reverser they have barely put a foot wrong. Hot foot it to the Limelight on May 20 and you’ll Oh
See what all the fuss is about… (whatcha mean I already used that one?) collaborators ranged from pop producer Greg Kurstin to the National’s Matt Berninger.
They are one of the most unique and interesting acts on the scene and they play the Ulster Hall this coming Tuesday. There are only a few £28 tickets remaining on Ticketmaster but we have one pair to give away!
To be in with a chance of winning them, all you have to do is email ultimateulster@mirror. co. uk with your contact details (include the best phone number to get you on) and the correct answer to the following question: Ards Guitar Festival is back with a bang. Or should that be a kerrang! with six string superstars such as Ariel Posen and our own Simon Mcbride showing off their virtuoso skills. As you’d expect, being a guitar festival and all, the emphasis is strongly on all things catgut and alder – but as ever with the Co Down event there are no self-indulgent noodlers, rather acts who celebrate the instrument instead of making it celebrate them. And as ever there’s a mix in the type of show on offer – from the expected live gigs to documentaries and talks from acclaimed luthier George Lowden. It runs from April 3 to April 7 and tickets are available through their website.