Oh Sees, Thee

Castlemania

In The Red

CD $12.00

05/10/2011 759718520828

ITR 208 CD

2XLP $22.00

05/10/2011 759718520811

ITR 208

MP3 $9.90

05/10/2011 759718520828

***BACK IN STOCK ON NEW PURPLE VINYL!!! Received a 7.6 rating from Pitchfork.
San Francisco’s incredibly prolific Thee Oh Sees are back with another full-length album of original tracks plus a smattering of covers.
While the group’s previous releases on In The Red, Help and Warm Slime, showcase their amped-up, reverb-drenched garage-psych pummel, on Castlemania, John Dwyer and company take a more low-key approach. Dwyer himself describes Castlemania as “summer-y and poppy”; on many of the tracks, electric guitars are jettisoned for acoustic, and the normally echo-laden vocals are a bit clearer. Happy pop melodies, sweet and somber tunes, psychedelic moves galore, cover versions of The Creation and the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, and at least one garage stomper all rub elbows on Thee Oh Sees’ “sunshine pop” album. Its release couldn’t be more perfectly suited to the time of the year when the sunny skies return and the flowers start blooming.
The vinyl for Castlemania is a three-sided double LP housed in a beautiful gatefold sleeve with a fourth side featuring an etching by William Keihn, who also did the fantastic cover art. Watch for Thee Oh Sees to return later this year with another full-length of pulverizing, heavy stomp. In the meantime, relax and enjoy Castlemania.

“John Dwyer deserves a star on the underground garage-punk walk of fame.”
—Stereogum
“This San Francisco garage-punk quartet made for my first real holy-shit moment of this year’s SXSW; I had no idea these guys were so great live.”
—Pitchfork