With a discography that is deliberately as confusing to get into as it is sprawling, OFF COURSE is a surprisingly accessible prog journey for anyone interested in Osees. The album consists of five tracks from what must have been some incredible jam sessions. Improvised, arcane, and a lot of fun. The album is an enjoyable listen with its only downside being an underwhelming final song. I will give an overview of the album with my (highly intelligent) thoughts and feelings.
Osees are a band who have not stopped since formed by their leader, John Dwyer. His work ethic is unfathomable, with around thirty albums over twenty-five years. OFF COURSE was released with no prior warning because it didn’t need one to gain excitement. This is a big part of the band’s success. They don’t have big hits, staying alive on their cult following. Dwyer describes it nicely in an interview with Vulture: “I’d say we get one new fan a month, but hey, once they’re in, they stick around.” The other secret ingredient that makes Osees work, which I think is most apparent in OFF COURSE, is the strong friendship between the members. It seems that Osees are a band that gets paid for jamming and having fun.
Now to the record. First, let’s acknowledge the wicked album art. Because of how many albums there are, the best way to listen to Osees is to pick the one with the most badass cover. The spiky sword-and-shield wielding warrior on the cover of OFF COURSE is pretty fucking sick so this is a great start.
The opener and title track is an evil, nine-minute jam-out. We are allowed some time to breathe as the song opens up with ambient guitar drones, an organ, and a weird, distant squealing sound. Then the song starts to build with a bass line that creates a foot-tapping groove which sets up John Dwyer’s vocals nicely. Each word is imbued with a force that pushes the song further. The groove is upheld by the band’s two drummers, Dan Rincon and Paul Quattrone, who create a really deep sound here. Midway through, Dwyer sings a melody that is eerily similar to Supergrass’s Alright. On my first listen, I was really taken aback as it comes out of nowhere and I recognized it but couldn’t say where from. It creates a dissociative feeling, instantly distracting you but then pulling you back into the song with how enjoyable it is. This is probably a better use for the melody than on the insufferable Supergrass version too. Finally, the song descends into a distorted freak-out with Dwyer making strange noises, then ends.
OFF COURSE is my favourite song on the album and probably my favourite Osees song overall. It seems to lack any substance but is clearly the product of a band having a great time and that shines through to the listener.
When I was trying to find out what Dwyer is actually saying on these songs I was met with nothing. There are no official lyrics yet, with fans speculating that he made them up in the studio and has forgotten them (though Osees fans are known to make up their own myths about the band).
His lyrics are especially hard to decipher on track two HECATE’S REFLECTION IS A TRICK. It may be complete nonsense, the only things I can glean are ‘you got tha sickness’ and ‘you’re a rhomba.’ This track is full of experimental psychedelic effects and weird vocals carried, again, on the incredible groove the two drummers and the bass create.
With a smooth transition, we go into the satisfying THE TRICK. We unfortunately looked at Hecate’s reflection and now descend on a poppy journey with a cool organ and limited distortion. This track is completely instrumental and borders on easy listening. It is good to have a break like this considering the two intense tracks that precede it.
The final track THE BRUTE ON HIS KNEES sounds like a spacier, more psychedelic take on Layla. This is a premise that sounds excellent but I think the execution is pretty sloppy. Dwyer’s vocal is very deep and dramatic and doesn’t fit very well with the backing vocals. While there are tonnes of weird psychedelic effects throughout the record, this is the first time they feel excessive. I think the biggest issue on this song is that the amazing drum-and-bass rhythm that flows through the album is not as strong here. This makes it so the weird improvisations don’t have a solid foundation to build off.
Overall, Osees have made a delightful album. They’re having a good time and so are you. It’s so cool that the band’s recording ethic translates to the listener so well. Osees captured something magical in the studio.
This article was written for the vinyl release of OFF COURSE. You can get the record on BandCamp
Osees: Website
Article by Laurie Green. You can contact me via lauriegreen2005@outlook.com
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