Thee Oh Sees are celebrated for its strut and mania, recording albums on the fly to capture the infectious madness of a live gig. Save for Dog Poison, which hinted at a mellower side, an Oh Sees record is like going 10 rounds with a boxing kangaroo. Castlemania sounds like an opera written by speed freaks while watching a muted Superjail marathon on Adult Swim. If the Thee Oh Sees' inclusion of a flute was a jolting experience previously, the junk shop symphony of horns, synths, mellotrons and other various hodge-podge percussion bells will undoubtedly cause a mental meltdown.
The album opener “I Need Seed” found its way to the Internets today. The song revisits Dog Poison sonics territory, while the subject of “seeds” are a running motif in Dwyer's skull. We know what you're thinking and no, Thee Oh Sees have not gone hippy-commune soft. Castlemania has an uncharacteristic emphasis of treating the lyrics like gristle. Dwyer timed the record well, capitalizing on our ceaseless summer addiction with “songs about bad things, packaged in a summery record about getting numb to life and its little pleasures as you take it for granted with age.”
He's also been quoted that Thee Oh Sees fall release will be “maybe our best yet”, but we're intent on lingering in the rich recordings within Castlemania.
Thee Oh Sees' Castlemania is out June 14 on In The Red.
