Around the same time I discovered Ty Segall I discovered John Dwyer. Like Segall most of his output centers on explorations of psych and garage filtered through different lenses, and like Segall he’s prolific, with multiple projects releasing per year. But unlike Segall, there’s an abrasive, punk sensibility that permeates his best music, particularly with Thee Oh Sees (sometimes OCS, for a while Oh Sees, for now simply Osees) which – surprise no surprise – is my favorite sonic output of his vision. What is a surprise is how little of his output I’ve covered on the site, so let’s rectify that by going back to the earliest album I currently own, 2013’s Floating Coffin, which showcases a level of dynamics missing from the band most recent records.

Not initially, though. Opener “I Come From The Mountain” is about as prototypical Osees as you can get, with Dwyer’s cranked guitar and yelps and “Woo!”s embedded in a firmament of surf, garage, and punk. Although four piece for the tour, second drummer Lars Finberg came in to record alongside Mike Shoun and the recorded result is a monster without sacrificing nuance and deft cymbal riding.

It’s a powerhouse track, one of the band’s best, and Floating Coffin gets even better by shifting into a completely different gear for follow up “Toe Cutter – Thumb Buster” with its slurring melody line. Both those songs have been mainstays of the band’s setlist for over a decade – they were featured in the group’s most recent set at Glastonbury (which you can see here, thanks Baxter!) and paired together work great. Then it’s back to the frenzy with the title track, and lyrically the psychedelia really start to creep in around the terrific bass work of Petey Dammit and the woozy electronics and keyboard work of Brigid Dawson, whose backup vocals help to give a little more interest to the otherwise straight ahead track.

It’s a fine track, but it hits a wall for me since it feels like a wall – a sheer wall of thick fuzz and noise. I know they do that kind of thing and excel at it, but what makes the best Osees albums are when that wall is broken by different shades and colors. One of the best tracks on Floating Coffin is “No Spell” which heavily features Dawson on vocals and drifts like a dream until the signature solo comes in to create a beautiful mess. It’s why a song like “Strawberries 1 + 2” works so well, injecting more of that woozy, downshifted psychedelia in the middle of a garage punk song. Or the funky almost RHCP opening to “Maze Fancier” that turns on a dime once Dwyer’s guitar comes in.

Does anyone have a guitar sound or attack like John Dwyer? I can see why you either love or hate him for sticking to something so unique and polarizing – he’s immediately identifiable regardless of what he’s playing. I obviously fall into the former camp, and “Maze Fancier” is a great showcase of how he whether it’s a lead line or strumming chords he has a sound no one can truly emulate. Filtered through some serious echo “Sweet Helicopter” bounces back and forth in your headphones with Dwyer’s falsetto spreading from the middle out along with his solos. Love the insistent drive of Petey Dammit’s baseline in this one, too.

By the time of “Minotaur” and its early rock/pop gloss that recalls Frank Black and the Pixie’s best songs, Floating Coffin is less of a look back at what the band was doing before I discovered them (that would be 2016’s A Weird Exits) and more of a welcome retreat to simply another high in the Osees’ catalog.

Why do I love Thee Oh Sees in any incarnation? This album is as good a reason as any.