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
Label: In The Red Records – ITR208
Format: Vinyl, LP, 45 RPM, Single Sided, Limited Edition, Reissue, Purple
Country: US
Released: Feb 2022
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock, Experimental
Tracklist
1 I Need Seed 2:54
2 Corprophagist (A Bath Perhaps) 2:14
3 Stinking Cloud 3:11
4 Corrupted Coffin 2:08
5 Pleasure Blimps 2:43
6 A Wall, A Century 2 2:42
7 Spider Cider 0:59
8 The Whipping Continues 2:28
9 Blood On The Deck 2:18
10 Castlemania 2:31
11 AA Warm Breeze 3:04
12 Idea For Rubber Dog 1:28
13 The Horse Was Lost 3:53
14 I Won't Hurt You 2:32
15 If I Stay Too Long 3:34
16 What Are We Craving? 3:23