Everything on this record The Cool Death of Island Raiders smacks of utter, heart straining weirdness; whether it be the divided yet equally eerie tracks “Drone Number One” and “Drone Number Two” or the infectious opening “The Gilded Cunt,” a song you wouldn’t benefit from singing out loud around your co-workers. The psychedelic twanged “folk rock” that litters the album – and thereby what renders it as a departure effort, would force pretty boy Beck to look at his mirrored reflection as James Taylor-esque ordinary. Go ahead, try and sleep easy, or pick up the needle on the maddeningly simple “The Dumb Drums” a gratifying yet deeply disturbing kid’s style hymnal.
The OhSees – formerly the OCS – are that band right now that can pull this off. That hatched, not born creature without regard for the ordinary locomotion of the species.
Putting “weirdness” into context, the OhSees are the reformed spawn of underground thrash king, John Dwyer (also from the late great Coachwhips) whose previous efforts were decidedly closer to punk than this record could ever be. The OhSees, a side project turned main squeeze features Patrick Mullins and Brigid Dawson (a lilting chanteuse with the background) along side Dwyer: the results are deviously intoxicating. The hushed sounds on The Cool Death of Island Raiders are almost California – refined, warmly textured and hopelessly summer toned – yet they are deeper, more thoughtful and bedroom pop than we associate with the Golden State. It is an album that begs for repeated listens and reevaluations of what it means. The OhSees are onto something; call it wacky, call it an odd conglomeration, its alright. Just don’t call it over too soon. |