Thee Oh Sees
An Odd Entrances
There comes a point when we just have to draw a line in the sand and say, “This is too much!” I used to think John Dwyer’s Thee Oh Sees was such a prolific band that they’re not giving their audience enough time to properly digest their musical output. I have my favorites in the catalog, of course, like Floating Coffin and Castlemania, but that’s only because those were some of my first tastes of this wonderful band. Thee Oh Sees train has been chugging steadily along as Dwyer has lost none of his focus, delivering follow up after follow up.
I’ve been able to keep the releases mostly straight because each Oh Sees release has been a consumable chunk of music. It stands alone and if you didn’t like it, there would always be another release waiting to come out. The band were willing to try again and again until they won you over. But with An Odd Entrances, I don’t know what to make of it.
An Odd Entrances serves as a companion piece to its proper full length A Weird Exits. They certainly match in cover art (resembling the airbrushes of Fantastic Planet) and in strangely worded titles. It will only take a couple listens to realize that, out of the two, An Odd Entrances is the weaker of the two releases, and maybe that was the point all along. But that’s not saying that there aren’t any highpoints here. An Odd Entrances is focused on slowing down the momentum gained in a Weird Exit and should be consumed only as such: as a takedown for the strange journey of A Weird Exits. I’m hardpressed to find a better way to describe the flute-laden groove of Jammed Exits and Nervous Tech.
An Odd Entrances should not be undersold: as a one-shot it hits its mark and satisfies fans. And it’s just not fair to compare it to the stellar album it’s following. It’s short and sweet and built to calm the savage breast.
Get it from Castle Face.
