Blending punk rock and krautrock, Oh Sees‘ Metamorphosed is a wild EP, but what else would expect from these cats? They’ve been incredibly prolific this year, which has been a boon to us fans of the band. Future live shows by Oh Sees might end up being three hours long just so Tom Dolas, John Dwyer, Tim Hellman, Paul Quattrone, and Dan Rincon can play half the material they’ve put out this year.
Opener “Saignant” is a minute-and-a-half blast of punk fury that leaves you wondering, “What the hell just happened?” “Electric War” unleashes double surf drums, trippy synths, and Hellman’s bass sounding like it’s doing a keg stand while Dwyer’s guitar runs around the room like a mean gremlin. “Weird and Wasted Connection” starts to bring in the krautrock elements, but stays at under two minutes with its post-punk tempo.
The first three tracks are each under two minutes in length. “The Virologist” (Could Osees be the first band in 2020 to come up with that song title? It seems unlikely, as it was ripe for the taking.), on the other hand, is an instrumental that’s over fourteen minutes long. Quattrone and Rincon put down a steady beat, Hellman goes for a bass stroll, Dolas kicks back and meditates with his synths, and Dwyer takes his time with his guitar – letting it stretch out like a cat in a warm window. “I Got a Lot” is over twenty-three minutes with Dwyer repeating “I got a lot on my mind.” several times. Don’t we all by this point? He also sings about wanting a future, to be a teacher, and, more or less, to, as Prince put it, “get through this crazy thing called life.” He also sings, “I wanna get ya real high.” The song nearly does that with its hypnotic drums alone.
It’s a fine EP and another piece of the big Oh Sees / OSEES / OCS catalogue just from this year that includes two live albums, a full album, a remix album, and multiple singles. Oh Sees have shown us that 2020 wasn’t a year to slack off. Sure, it gave some of us extra time to relax, but it was a year to create and focus and work for the betterment of ourselves and others (as every year should be). It was a year to transform, to metamorphose into something new. Put on this EP and get to work.
Keep your mind open.
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