Oh Sees

Osees, also known as Thee Oh Sees, Oh Sees, OCS, Orinoka Crash Suite, Orange County Sound and The Ohsees, is an American psychedelic rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1997, now based in Los Angeles. Founded by John Dwyer, singer, guitarist and principal composer, the band began as a solo project of lo-fi experimental recordings, blending freak folk and acoustic, with albums such as 1 (2003) and 2 (2004). In 2005, Dwyer recruited percussionist Patrick Mullins for Songs About Death & Dying Vol. 3, then keyboardist and backing vocalist Brigid Dawson in 2006 for The Cool Death of Island Raiders, marking the move to a full band formation. In 2007, guitarist Petey Dammit joins on bass and drummer Mike Shoun completes the line-up, formalized as Thee Oh Sees with The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In (2008), produced by Chris Woodhouse on Castle Face Records, a label co-founded by Dwyer. The sound evolves into psychedelic garage rock influenced by krautrock, punk and noise, with acclaimed albums such as Carrion Crawler/The Dream (2011), Floating Coffin (2013) and Mutilator Defeated at Last (2015). The band stands out for its prolific discography, as well as for its energetic performances and visual aesthetic, blending cartoon imagery and horror. Frequent name changes, explained by Dwyer as a provocation to the music press, include a switch to Oh Sees in 2017 and Osees in 2020, with the album Protean Threat. In 2013, after an announced hiatus, Dwyer moved to Los Angeles, and the line-up changed with the arrival of bassist Tim Hellman and drummer Nick Murray, later replaced by Ryan Moutinho and Dan Rincon. In 2016, Paul Quattrone becomes the second drummer, and Tomas Dolas joins on keyboards, forming the current line-up alongside Dwyer, Hellman, Rincon and Butch Sunset (bongos). Standout albums include Orc (2017), co-produced by Ty Segall, and Smote Reverser (2018), which explore progressive rock, while Memory of a Cut Off Head (2017) returns to an acoustic lo-fi sound with Dawson. A Foul Form (2022), Intercepted Message (2023) and Abomination Revealed at Last (2025) confirm their garage/synth-punk style.

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