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viewing 1 To 15 of 15 items
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LP
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ITR 186X-LP
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"Back in print on new green with orange hi-melt vinyl. The ridiculously prolific Bay Area band Thee Oh Sees are back with another full-length long-player. Warm Slime is guaranteed to please fans of their whacked-out garage/psych/punk jams. Recorded by Sacramento sultan of sound Chris Woodhouse, Warm Slime carries on in the same tradition as the group's previous In The Red release, Help, showcasing their more electrified and rocking side, in comparison to other recent home-recorded releases. The centerpiece is undoubtedly the mind-bending title track, which clocks in at nearly 14 minutes and takes up the entirety of the album's first side. It's a psychedelic epic of 'Inna Gadda Da Vida' proportions! John Dwyer's guitar playing is at its quadra-spazzed best here, and the vocal interplay with Brigid Dawson gives it a B-52s-at-their-least-cheesy-crossed-with-the-Troggs vibe. The results are stunning." "Thee Oh Sees incorporate the oft-referenced Nuggets stuff in a way that feels reverential. With grinding guitars and bah-bah-bah vocals, but with the punk and new-wave elements also at play, they don't feel trite or plagiarized. This is like meat and potatoes prepared by a master chef--totally familiar but utterly delicious." --Pitchfork
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LP
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ITR 235LP
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2023 repress; available on clear with white and gray swirl. Originally released in 2012. "Received an 8.1 rating from Pitchfork. What's the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions Thee Oh Sees? Probably their riot-sparking live show, right? Visions of a guitar-chewing, speaker-smothering, tongue-wagging John Dwyer careening across your cranium, chased by a wild-eyed wrecking crew that drives every last hook home like it's a nail in the coffin of what one thought it meant to make 21st century rock 'n' roll? Yeah, that sounds about right. But it misses a more important point -- how impossible Thee Oh Sees have been to pin down since Dwyer launched it in the late '90s as a solo break from such sorely missed underground bands as Pink and Brown and Coachwhips. That restlessness extends to everything from the towering, thirteen-minute title track of 2010's Warm Smile LP to the mercurial moods of 2008's The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In. And then there's the home-brewed symphonies of Castlemania and the high-wire hooks of Carrion Crawler / The Dream, which dropped a second drum set among sunburnt organs, dovetailing guitars and rail-jumping rhythms. If one prefers a slightly more subtle musical awakening, there's always Putrifiers II, the latest in a long line of Oh Sees albums that expands the group's sound well past your friendly neighborhood garage band. So while the space-odyssey nods of 'Wax Face' actually sound like they're meant to melt one's ears straight off, the record's full of deviant detours, from the poison-tipped string parts and Eno-esque engineering of 'So Nice' to the groove-locked Krautrock inclinations of 'Lupine Dominus.' The most noticeable element may be Dwyer's melodies, however, as they reveal a softer side to his songwriting, one that makes perfect sense considering just how disparate his dust-clearing influences are. Scott Walker, The Velvet Underground, The Zombies and the experimental Japanese act Les Rallizes Denudes are but a small taste of what informed Thee Oh Sees this time around, as Dwyer returned to the multi-instrumental ways of Castlemania -- full-band sessions for another record are already underway -- and rounded out a fuller, drier sound with drummer / engineer Chris Woodhouse and special guests like Mikal Cronin (sax), Heidi Maureen Alexander (trumpet, vocals) and K Dylan Edrich (viola)."
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2LP
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CASTLE 007LP
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2022 repress. 2011 release. "A double-LP collection of every single and compilation track Thee Oh Sees have released to date, along with one previously unreleased gem. Tracks run the gambit from very mellow stuff with strings to completely fried burners."
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LP
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CF 055LP
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2024 repress. "Received a 7.8 rating from Pitchfork. Here we have a new batch from Thee Oh Sees for your absorption -- nine muscular tunes primed to pummel. Last year's Drop was more schizophrenic, ranging from heavy to whimsical and back; Mutilator Defeated at Last has more in common with the monolithic hugeness of Floating Coffin. With only two brief reprieves from its onslaught, this record is made to be played loudly and demands bodily sacrifice. Despite the plutonium heavy feel, Thee Oh Sees continue to be omnivorous. Synths and acoustic guitars wind throughout the album like veins of gold through granite. Any and all that stands in its way will be devoured and assimilated. This is the sound of a band doing what they do best."
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2LP
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CF 075LP
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"Perched in the belfry of The Chapel we caught thee mighty Oh Sees, alive and in their natural element, with our shutters aflutter and our tapes on a roll. After a short incubation period, the beast has reached full maturity and it is hideous. Over three nights they pummeled, and we've culled some great photographs, a wicked recording, and even a little live video action. Castle Face is happy to announce the first double LP in the Live in San Francisco series, presented on two discs, in a handsome double gatefold jacket. Finally, you depraved Oh Sees freaks have something to take home with you when you lose your shoes and your girlfriend at the show. Put it on at home and pretend to wait in line for the bathroom and it's like you're really there. The thrash, the throb, the mob is all present and pushed to the front. Dual drummers synced in each ear, Tim Hellman rounding out the bottom and Castle Face's own John Dwyer up front on guitar, lasering young brains off and fomenting the crowd to a froth -- it's a great band, in a great room, with a great crowd and it's cooked to perfection... Take a little bit of it with you this time."
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LP
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CASTLE 018LP
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2022 repress. "We all know the type: prolific bands that commit every loose thought, stray idea and 90-second song fragment to tape. Bands that pay no attention to little inconveniences like 'release cycles' or 'self-editing,' and instead decide that quantity equals quality, creating a discography more labyrinthine, imposing and -- ultimately -- exhausting than the cast of creatures in a sci-fi novel. Here is why none of that applies to Thee Oh Sees. Because each of the dozen-plus albums they've released since 2004 possesses a distinct personality and represents a different point along the path of John Dwyer's slow transformation from auteur of woozy, bare-bones four-track psychedelia to goggle-eyed garage rock marauder backed at long last by a band that both shares and stokes his singular vision. Because drop a needle on any record and -- to their great credit -- it takes several songs before you're convinced it's Thee Oh Sees. The seasick hundred-bottles-of-rum shanty 'What the Driven Drink,' from 2007's delirious Sucks Blood exists in a different galaxy than the rollercoastering 'Chem-Farmer' from last year's Carrion Crawler / The Dream; the doomy doo-wop of 'Blood on the Deck' hardly seems like the product of the same band that delivered the yelping 'Ruby Go Home' in 2009. And the band that made last year's engrossing Putrifiers II seems like a distant cousin to the one delivering Floating Coffin -- arguably the most varied and textured Oh Sees record to date. Chalk some of the group's cunning chameleonic ability to Dwyer's fifteen-year resume. The driving force behind such beloved and sonically disparate bands as Coachwhips and Pink and Brown, Dwyer's increased fidelity to Thee Oh Sees and only Thee Oh Sees is evidence of a newfound sense of purpose and focus. Where once Dwyer used to funnel his divergent artistic ideas through a host of different channels, lately he's been finding ways to make all of those impulses function within the framework of Thee Oh Sees -- who have in turn grown closer and tighter and sharper with each eye-popping, jaw-dropping live show. That sense of unity is palpable throughout Floating Coffin, the next chapter in the story of Thee Oh Sees, the one where they fix their fury against the onrushing night. It's another blistering demonstration of Thee Oh Sees greatest trick: they're the only prolific band who doesn't put out records often enough."
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2LP
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CF 080LP
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2021 represses, vinyl only. 2016 release. "Emerging from the distant light is the new double-LP from John Dwyer's Thee Oh Sees -- the first studio recordings to capture the muscular rhythm section of twin drummers Ryan Moutinho and Dan Rincon with ringer bassist Tim Hellman cracking spines. The groove and bludgeon one has come to expect from the band's live shows is captured seamlessly here -- they go from zero to headsplitter, and on the rare occasions they do let up on the gas a bit, you're treated to some locked-in hypnotizers, too. The guitar sounds more colossal and ethereal at the same time, riding roughshod over the vacuum- sealed rhythm section, spiraling skywards, and diving into the emerald depths so quick your guts tingle. Synths, strings and smoke-soaked things crawl behind the scenes to make an extra far-out party platter, served on 45 RPM plates for most excellent listening quality. With amazing visuals (including a side-D etching by airbrush-vanart maestro Robert Beatty) and packed in vape-proof goatskin, it's a beast."
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LP
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CF 109LP
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2021 repress. "Encased in a brown paper wrapping like a forgotten bit of smut from behind the beaded curtain, this unassuming disc is a time-capsule back to John Dwyer's early SF days, janglingly fingerpicked wisps of melody and electronics baking in the all-too anemic sunshine of San Francisco's elusive summer. Like a seashell to the ear, one can hear within it Baker Beach bike ride excursions, holding court and gently harassing passers-by on a Haight street stoop, and midnight rambles with friends from out of town, daring the sun to come up. Somewhere chronologically between the folky whisper of Songs About Death And Dying and the recently reissued Cool Death Of Island Raiders, this one's been vexing to find for way too long and Castle Face has decided to give it 'the treatment'. May it awaken the gentle glow of possibility dappled with the dancing shadow of danger that it stirs around this castle."
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LP
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CASTLE 033LP
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2021 represses, vinyl only. 2014 release. "Our lad John P. Dwyer has been lancing eardrums with Thee Oh Sees in an ever-escalating flurry of records for the past six years. Since the release of The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In announced a new loud era (and excepting a few momentary detours into home-baked territory -- 'Dog Poison' and 'Castlemania', for example), Dwyer and company have pummeled a bit harder each time out, cementing their reputation as a live force to be reckoned with and leaving legions sweaty and bruised in the process. Late last year, after years of relentlessly touring the world, the word got out... Dwyer's moving to Los Angeles (fear not, still California!) and Thee Oh Sees are taking a much-needed hiatus with a shifting of gears ahead and a new album on the way. This is that album. Drop was recorded in a banana-ripening warehouse (no joke) with hair-farming studio warlock Chris Woodhouse playing drums; it's also graced with the presence of talented gurus Mikal Cronin, Greer McGettrick and Casafis adding horns and vocals. The result pushes the familiar polarities of the group farther outward than ever before. Opener 'Penetrating Eye' might be the heaviest Oh Sees song yet, 'Transparent World' and 'Put Some Reverb On My Brother' foam with seasick fuzz, and yet the ballads, like the harpsichorded 'King's Nose' and the lush and stately closer 'The Lens,' extend their oeuvre into mellotronic, far-out pop with delicacy and grace. This schizophrenia heralds the man and the band into an unseen future in classic Dwyer fashion -- restless energy harnessed into exquisitely crafted jams, with an emphasis on the pensive and the paranoid in turns."
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LP
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CASTLE 030LP
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2021 represses, vinyl only. 2013 release "It's no secret that John Dwyer and Thee Oh Sees put out a ton of stuff. Not just full-lengths -- of which there are many -- but singles, split releases, compilations and even books. The dude cooks in many kitchens, but the sauce is always tasty. Castle Face is proud to continue their tradition of occasionally corralling these rarer gems onto the convenient LP format. For even the most insane Oh Sees collectors, the inclusion of an unreleased, mutated live version of 'Block of Ice' makes this a must-have. To sweeten the deal, the tunes have been gussied up ever-so-slightly to knock you nightly, and the incredible tritone artwork by Shalo P is printed on blinding silver-foil jackets."
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CD
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CF 108CD
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"'Thee Hounds of Foggy Notion / Live Performances Sans Stages And Whatnots With Thee Oh Sees (2008), is a film we made just over a decade ago, and this record is the soundtrack. I loved making it, and I love all that were involved. I'm honestly blissed-out proud to hear over the years that it somehow is loved by so many others, too. I first met John Dwyer on Flag Day. I was blown away by a trio of roving Coachwhips guerrilla street shows that climaxed at the scenic vista parking lot high above San Francisco atop Mt. Sutro. Amongst the gathered uninitiated hordes of souvenir sweatshirt selling families, and puzzled elderly global tourist translators, and a white weirdo tuxedo wedding party, was the sonic corruption of the Coachwhips... I'm certain that this exact event was the idea seed for Thee Hounds Of Foggy Notion, and that it saved my life a little bit. When JPD asked me to consider making a video for Thee Oh Sees with the sole stipulation that he didn't want to do anything fake-y to playback, my head started swimming. What we mutually agreed upon was to essentially reprise Flag Day, and film Thee Oh Sees performing live, but not on stages. I rented a 15-passenger van, a generator, and the minimal cinematic equipment my trusted cinematographer friend James Wall deemed we needed. Everything sound wise was JPD territory and went through an ancient mixing board that Johnny had housed within a Samsonite suitcase. We ran all the plate mics from the drums, and the li'l pedestal mics from the amps through this old mixer, and we all believed that all would be well and swell.' --Brian Lee Hughes"
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LP
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CF 108LP
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LP version. "'Thee Hounds of Foggy Notion / Live Performances Sans Stages And Whatnots With Thee Oh Sees (2008), is a film we made just over a decade ago, and this record is the soundtrack. I loved making it, and I love all that were involved. I'm honestly blissed-out proud to hear over the years that it somehow is loved by so many others, too. I first met John Dwyer on Flag Day. I was blown away by a trio of roving Coachwhips guerrilla street shows that climaxed at the scenic vista parking lot high above San Francisco atop Mt. Sutro. Amongst the gathered uninitiated hordes of souvenir sweatshirt selling families, and puzzled elderly global tourist translators, and a white weirdo tuxedo wedding party, was the sonic corruption of the Coachwhips... I'm certain that this exact event was the idea seed for Thee Hounds Of Foggy Notion, and that it saved my life a little bit. When JPD asked me to consider making a video for Thee Oh Sees with the sole stipulation that he didn't want to do anything fake-y to playback, my head started swimming. What we mutually agreed upon was to essentially reprise Flag Day, and film Thee Oh Sees performing live, but not on stages. I rented a 15-passenger van, a generator, and the minimal cinematic equipment my trusted cinematographer friend James Wall deemed we needed. Everything sound wise was JPD territory and went through an ancient mixing board that Johnny had housed within a Samsonite suitcase. We ran all the plate mics from the drums, and the li'l pedestal mics from the amps through this old mixer, and we all believed that all would be well and swell.' --Brian Lee Hughes"
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CD
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CF 085CD
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"From the same misty mountaintop tape spool as August's A Weird Exits (2016), Thee Oh Sees bring the companion album An Odd Entrances. Delving more towards the contemplative than the face-skinning aspects of its predecessor, this sister album is a cosmic exercise en plein aire with John Dwyer and company double-drum shuffling, lounging with cellos, following a flute around the groove, and spooling a few Grimm-dark lullabies along the way. Lurking in the grass are a snake or two, like the celestial facing instrumental buzz of 'Unwrap The Fiend Pt. 1.'... But for the most part this is a relatively hushed affair, a morning rather than evening listen."
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LP
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CF 085LP
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LP version. "From the same misty mountaintop tape spool as August's A Weird Exits (2016), Thee Oh Sees bring the companion album An Odd Entrances. Delving more towards the contemplative than the face-skinning aspects of its predecessor, this sister album is a cosmic exercise en plein aire with John Dwyer and company double-drum shuffling, lounging with cellos, following a flute around the groove, and spooling a few Grimm-dark lullabies along the way. Lurking in the grass are a snake or two, like the celestial facing instrumental buzz of 'Unwrap The Fiend Pt. 1.'... But for the most part this is a relatively hushed affair, a morning rather than evening listen."
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LP
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ITR 187LP
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2021 repress. "Thee Oh Sees (OCS) began as songwriter / singer / guitarist John Dwyer's outlet for the experimental instrumentals he was producing in his home studio. Dwyer, who hails from Providence, RI, has been active on the San Francisco indie scene since the late '90s, working with The Coachwhips, Hospitals, Pink & Brown, Yikes, Dig That Body Up It's Alive, and Swords & Sandals, among others. He formed OCS (which is an acronym for Orinoka Crash Suite, Orange County Sound, or whatever Dwyer decided on any given day) to release a string of soundscapes and moody pieces that were decidedly lower key than his previous projects. In time, OCS morphed into an actual band, working under a flurry of names (most notably the Oh Sees or the Ohsees) and eventually settling on Thee Oh Sees. Sounding a bit like The Mamas & The Papas run through a seriously bent garage blender, this line-up features Dwyer on guitar and vocals, Brigid Dawson on vocals and tambourine, Petey Dammit on bass, and Mike Shoun on drums. The band signed with the German Tomlab label and released The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In in 2008. This record marked the first recorded appearance of the newly harder rocking version of the band and was immediately met with an enthusiastic response by fans and rock scribes. It went out of print after its initial pressing sold out quickly, and In The Red is pleased to announce the re-release of this incredible album on vinyl. Music like this is best enjoyed when spun on a turntable, and the gorgeous cover art can only be properly appreciated at 12 inches by 12 inches."
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viewing 1 To 15 of 15 items
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