It’s still powered by John Dwyer’s axe-heroics, still driven by Tim Hellman’s commanding bass, we’re still attacked by the Dan Rincon drum punch (doubled by Paul Quattrone live), and warp drive keyboards are still Tomas Dolas.
Reassuringly stable, the namespace (previously Thee Oh Sees, OCS etc) currently going as Osees clearly gets the idea of side one, track one. It must grab, bludgeon, blast and bang. Maybe opener “Abomination” slaps too hard, angry as it is that the fascists and their enablers are now walking around in plain sight. Revealed At Last, indeed. It slaps too hard because you’re still reeling when you should be taking in the glory of “Sneaker”, which does about five different great things with three minutes.
For this reviewer at least, the glory of the Osees namespace is the marvels here like “Sneaker”, “Glue”, “Infected Chrome” and from the generous back catalogue (you name ‘em) “Animated Violence”, “Web”, “Nite Expo”, “Plastic Plant” etc. They are songs like the monsters from Where The Wild Things Are: huge, rough-built, nightmarish but things of wonder. You fancy a trance, a trip into space, down into the dungeons, you want to lose the feeling in your jaw, then Osees have the means and more. Put on your wolf suit.
Back to Abomination, the shaggy monsters are well served by a backdrop of classic hardcore mosh-makers. “Ashes 2”, “Coffin Wax”, “Protection” and the first 80 seconds of “Flight Simulator” are all highly efficient and on the nose. Dolas’ handy work is less apparent than on previous outings, although the large backend of “Flight Sim” attempts to make up for that.
John’s vocals are clearly in the monster space, with the mic often either partially or fully in mouth, the monster either towering, skating or scuttling. I think lyrically it’s the usual mix of abstract fragments of images, and deep unease with the state of the world mixed with the fantastical but I strained more than usual, so who knows. They have a lot to say, I just couldn’t make it out.
It’s hard to think of a touring band who have delivered so brilliantly on their promise for so long and, let’s face it, so often as the Osees. Gruelling might be a good word for a touring schedule as full as theirs if for one minute they looked or sounded, erm, gruelled.
Being this prolific cannot be easy, and creating an album that is also another beautiful thought-over artifact to reward the faithful has to be applauded, even while it remains within bounds. Making mischief of one kind and another in a world gone wrong is what Osees do, and Abomination Revealed at Last is a solid rumpus.
