Thee Oh Sees – Spinning Platters

Single Of The Week: “The War Clock” by Various Artists

One the list of things you don’t know you needed- Kyp Malone of NYC art-rock legends TV On The Radio is in a psych-jazz band with John Dwyer of OSees and Dwyer-verse players Tom Dolas and Brad Caulkin. They are called Various Artists and their debut album is called Moon-Drenched. Or maybe this is just the band Bent Arcana’s second record? Either way, this track of a fierce piece of brain-melting fuckery that’s also 12 1/2 minutes of pure energy. Do you need something to help you focus on spreadsheets or cleaning the bathroom? This is it. Looking to get lost in your own head? This is also it. Just looking for guitar and sax fury? Yup! This is it. The one thing “The War Clock” doesn’t sound like to me is actual war… The song is “happy” exciting, not “scary” exciting. You may interpret it as you wish.

“The War Clock” can be played loud off Bandcamp and a full length, Moon-Drenched, is coming to this world on May 28th.

Single of the Week: Is The Season For New Incarnations by Brigid Dawson at The Mothers Network

Brigid Dawson spent years as part of San Francisco’s Thee Oh Sees, providing additional percussion and haunting harmonies to counter the psychedelic assault going on in the foreground. When Thee Oh Sees frontman John Dwyer relocated to Los Angeles, he broke up the original band, leaving Dawson out of the mix, and kind of changing the color of the band a bit. Dawson and Dwyer reunited in 2017 to record a record under the name OCS called Memory Of A Cut Off Head, which, in my humble opinion, is the best Dwyer work since Coachwhips’ Bangers vs Fuckers. This record also brought Dawson’s voice into the foreground, really showing off her stunning chops. I’ve been waiting for Dawson to finally take the limelight, and we get to enjoy that today with our single of the week, “Is The Season For New Incarnations.” It’s a stunning, slow burning, psych number that spins around the brain in beautiful ways. I’ve listened to it at least 10 times today.

“Is The Season For New Incarnations” is the lead track off Brigid Dawson & The Mothers Network’s debut record Ballet of Apes. This record can be streamed in all the usual places, and can be purchased at your local record store. Which, I might add, is likely to be open for curbside pickup, so please give them a call so you can grab this and other records today!

Show Review: OCS aka Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, Shannon Lay at The Chapel, 12/18/17

John Dwyer & Ty Segall have been doing their holiday benefit for the SF Coalition on Homelessness for quite a few years now. They have been doing it for so many years that it’s become an established Bay Area Holiday Tradition. However, Thee Oh Sees and Ty both have played the Bay Area twice already this year, which, at first, made me question whether or not this was going to happen this year. Happily, the gigs still happened. And, instead of playing it straight, we got two very, very surprising sets by two of the most prolific acts in modern music. Continue reading “Show Review: OCS aka Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, Shannon Lay at The Chapel, 12/18/17”

Festival Preview: FYF Fest

2017 seems to be the year of the music festival. With new festivals like Desert Daze and Burger Boogaloo gaining traction, the stalwarts have upped the ante on their lineups, boasting unique and eclectic selections of damn fine music. FYF Fest has come a long way from its meager Echo Park beginnings and from July 21st to 23rd it will once again take over Exposition Park in Los Angeles this year and damn if they haven’t booked one hell of a lineup.

Continue reading “Festival Preview: FYF Fest”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 2017-06-13 – 2017-06-18

The Great Falls of the Missouri River in 1880 — The Great Falls of the Missouri River, 1880.

Do you know what today is? It’s June 13, yes – and that means today is the anniversary of the day that Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition caught sight of the Great Falls of the Missouri River for the first time. Bet that made for a pretty good day.

Speaking of finding things, let’s talk about this week’s concerts. Here’s what we’ve got coming up this week in the Bay Area: low people, electric people, minimal people, and a trivia night hosted by the people in Spinning Platters. It’s looking pretty good out there!

So, let’s preview. Preview time. Preview time is go. Previews are starting now and we are going to start the previews now. Previews go!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 2017-06-13 — 2017-06-18”

SXSW 2017: 32 Instant Band Reviews

32 bands in five days. My feet still hurt.

For those who aren’t in the know, SXSW is a conference in Austin, TX. It’s a place where folks in the technology, film, comedy, and music worlds come together and share ideas. The music portion is the primary reason why I come down, because it gives you an opportunity to see a large amount of music, often crossing dozens of genres, all in intimate venues all across town. This year, I feel like I “took it easy” and managed to see 32 different bands during the week (I saw Lizzo and Bleached both perform twice. You’d want to, too, if given the chance).

Without further ado, here are my thoughts on all 32 bands that I saw, in venues ranging from a donut shop to a lakeside amphitheater.

Continue reading “SXSW 2017: 32 Instant Band Reviews”

Spinning Platters’ Best Of 2014: Individual Staff Lists

One of the many great records that Spinning Platters Writers enjoyed in 2014

2014 was a good year for music — you just had to lose yourself in something unsafe. – Staff Writer Jonathan Pirro.

A lot of people seemed mighty nonplussed by 2014’s recorded music output. Sure, there was a lot of somewhat generic, unimpressive stuff. However, if you did some real hunting, you’ll find that there was some incredibly impressive stuff out there. Here are Spinning Platter’s Staff’s individual lists of favorite records of 2014, starting with my own list:

Continue reading “Spinning Platters’ Best Of 2014: Individual Staff Lists”

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/3/14-7/9/14

Historically, July has been a dead period for big music festivals. Recently, however, we’ve seen two amazing festivals pop up. Next week is Phono del Sol. This week, however, is the positively epic Burger Boogaloo! There is going to be 50 years worth of the finest garage bands ever in Mosswood Park, near MacArthur Bart in Oakland. However, there is plenty more happening this week in addition to that: Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/3/14-7/9/14”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 5/29/14-5/28/14

Thursday, May 29th Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 5/29/14-5/28/14”

Album Review: Damaged Bug – Hubba Bubba

Rating: Silver
Somehow, in-between putting Thee Oh Sees on hiatus, relocating to Southern California, and preparing to release another Thee Oh Sees album, John Dwyer has found time for another solo project. Hubba Bubba, his debut album as Damaged Bug, has Dwyer abandoning his fuzzy guitars for an even fuzzier synthesizer. But this foray into electronica isn’t Dwyer’s attempt at making a Depeche Mode album. Hubba Bubba sounds much more like a marijuana influenced Suicide album than an 80’s new wave rehash like so many artist are doing right now. The emphasis is placed on minimalist synth riffs behind Dwyer’s robotic vocals.

Continue reading “Album Review: Damaged Bug — Hubba Bubba“