Osees - Intercepted Message

Released: 18/08/23

For fans of Osees' brilliant 2022 LP A Foul Form, undoubtedly the band's scuzziest, punkest record they've ever made (which is saying a lot) “ it's furious chthonic lo-fi-ness helped along by virtue of it being recorded in frontman John Dwyer's basement “ Intercepted Message might induce a kind of sonic whiplash, given that it's undoubtedly the pop-est' album they've ever made. Of course, Dwyer and co. have never shied away from melody and hooks, but on Intercepted Message the group equal the pop thrills of say, I Was Denied' from Warm Slime (2010), or I Come from the Mountain' from Floating Coffin (2013), while eschewing their usually reverb-saturated assault in favour of hi-fi(ish) production. The effect is akin to Dorothy stepping from monochrome into glorious Technicolor, and Dwyer's voice, shorn of the trademark reverb, sounds uncannily like The Cramps' Lux Interior, which all adds to the thrill of this brilliant garage pop record.