Who even needs a singles collection from Thee Oh Sees? Go ahead and acknowledge alternative definitions (which would certainly apply here), but within the realm of the mainstream, this typically represents a planned and additional source of revenue for the Big Four — collections of songs defined by their catchiness, just in case they weren’t able to lure you into purchasing the shallow and unrewarding LP at the time of its release. I’m generalizing, but that’s pretty much the case for every Top 40 artist within the last 500 years, prior to when Billboard was a thing, and when the Founders spent their downtime gossiping and then formally compiling all the latest tunes of utmost esteem. Who wants to bet William Ellery had a ton of guilty pleasures?
In fact, who wants to bet that the inimitable Thomas Paine would’ve liked Thee Oh Sees? As a contrast, their LPs continue to regularly get us… rockin’? God no. Forget I ever verged on phrasing it that way, but appreciate what I’m getting at; they consistently churn out quality, to the point where the butter has grown sexual organs and is begging to be pushed to climax. So no, we don’t need a singles collection from the consistent San Franciscans, but we’ll certainly accept the one that they’re offering: Singles Collection Volume 3, due out next Tuesday (11/26). It follows the joint Singles Collection Volumes 1 and 2, released in 2011, and takes from a variety of non-LP sources, including an Adult Swim compilation of garage rock (“Devil Again”) and the David Shrigley installment for the Edition Fieber 7-inch series (“Ugly Man” and “Girls Who Smile”). Supplemental, perhaps. So what?
Singles Collection Volume 3 tracklisting
01. Ugly Man
02. Girls Who Smile
03. Crushed Grass
04. Burning Spear
05. What You Need
06. FBI2
07. Wait Let’s Go
08. Always Flying
09. Devil Again
10. Block of Ice (Live at the SF Eagle)
11. Destroyed Fortress/No Spell (Live at Death By Audio) (CD only)
• Thee Oh Sees: http://www.theeohsees.com
• Castle Face: http://www.castlefacerecords.com
More about: Thee Oh Sees
