John Dwyer’s ever-shifting jolly band of Bay Area garage rock mainstays, Oh Sees (fka Thee Oh Sees, The Oh Sees, The Ohsees, The Jay-Zs, The Puff Diddys, etc.), only just released their latest album — and their first with that shiny new moniker — titled Orc, like, literally four days ago. But temporal proximity has never stopped the Dwy-dog from the allure of a new project, and it appears nothing has changed even 20 years into the band’s tenure, because he’s already got another new album on the way.
This time, however, he’s going back to that musty old shed in the backyard of his San Francisco apartment and reintroducing himself to one of his dusty favorites, OCS — the name under which he released a handful of albums from 2003–2005 — for a new record oh-so-fittingly called Memory of a Cut Off Head. Luckily, you’ll still have some time to sink into that new Oh Sees joint, because Memory of a Cut Off Head is out via Castle Face (duh) on November 17.
Not only is the new record set to be the 20th release in the 20th year for the Oh Sees project, but it’s also the 100th release on Dwyer’s Castle Face label; and as such, the album is meant to take listeners back to “the quieter roots of it all in particularly baroque and homesteadly fashion.” It was also co-written by former Oh Sees treasurer (read: vocalist and keyboardist) and longtime Dwyer collaborator Brigid Dawson, which really coheres that whole nostalgic theme we were just talking about. (Gee, remember that? Good times.)
If you’re already sick of Orc (damn millennials and their short attention spans), you can jam to the country twang, fluid fiddles, and motorik rhythms of Memory of a Cut Off Head’s title track down below. Otherwise, just read the tracklisting (oooh, fun!), and don’t forget to pray for Dwyer to overcome his pernicious “compulsive-composition” addiction.
Memory of a Cut Off Head tracklisting:
01. Memory of a Cut Off Head
02. Cannibal Planet
03. The Baron Sleeps and Dreams
04. The Remote Viewer
05. On & On Corridor
06. Neighbor To None
07. The Fool
08. The Chopping Block
09. Time Tuner
10. Lift A Finger
