Pioneer of the expanding West Coast punk rock psychedelia whirlwind is the legendary John Dwyer, mastermind behind Thee Oh Sees (currently Oh Sees, formerly OCS, The Oh Sees) and one of the most prolific songwriters of our time. The most recent effort, Smote Reverser, finds Dwyer and Co. (drummers Dan Rincon and Paul Quattrone and bassist Tim Hellman round out the current lineup, although the album features several guest musicians) exploring the more experimental side of their sludgy, mind-bending psych freak-out style.
First and foremost, the one constant here is that nothing is the same from one track to the next. From the opening salvo, the album snarls, spits, and bounces off the walls. The guest spot of Tomas Dolas on the organ, Mellotron, synths, and Wurlitzer electric piano add a squishy underbelly for Dwyer to run wild over and harmonize with (quite beautifully). The numerous instrumental breaks and high-flying guitar runs highlight the almost improvisational nature of the album, all put through the blender of Dwyer’s notoriously spastic warrior shaman aesthetic.
Melodically, the album is all over the place. From short bursts of frenetic shrieks to the 12-minute towering inferno of “Anthemic Aggressor,” there is never a dull moment, and the trademark bludgeon and intensity match the ominous doom feeling of the album artwork. Even the slower, softer moments still harbor a nervous energy, a restlessness, a need to move on quickly, lest things become repetitive.
From mammoth classic rock solos to blistering thrash, Smote Reverser finds Oh Sees, and Dwyer in particular, melding their previous works into a gloriously wild, pummeling, squealing work of modern psychedelia. The twitchy, hyperactive punk rock permeation keeps things moving inexorably forward to a thrilling conclusion of bubbling primordial ooze and freewheeling space rock.
John Dwyer and Oh Sees (or whatever they go by in the future) are one of the preeminent voices in the rebirth of the West Coast music scene; with guitar-based rock music falling out of the mainstream, bands like Oh Sees and musicians like Dwyer are needed now more than ever. With Smote Reverser, Dwyer and his cohorts assert proudly that rock music isn’t going down without a fight.
Rating: 9 out of 10
