Thee Oh Sees Reissue 2008’s Psych/Fuzz ‘Thee Hounds of Foggy Notion’ (ALBUM REVIEW)

Back in 2008 the San Francisco based Thee Oh Sees (now they are Oh Sees) were going through a transitional period and released a quirky live album/DVD titled Thee Hounds of Foggy Notion. Now that album is being re-released through Castle Face records.

The live offering is a psych-folk mix of fuzzed out tunes; the majority of which were recorded previously while a few newer tracks would later be reworked for their 2008 studio release Master’s Bedroom Is Worth Spending A Night In. The songs have a blissfully simple appeal with a fine haze covering most of the sound blending in to feel like a soundtrack to a grainy home movie shot on a Super 8.  

The opening trio of “Gilded Cunt”, the shambling “Island Raiders” and “Ship” proceed dreamlike with light fuzz and soft falsetto singing pushed to the background. The band at the time, Petey Dammit – Guitar Brigid Dawson – vocals John Dwyer – vocals, guitar Patrick Mullins – drums, percussion, saw, act in communal fashion with minimal instrumentation on the majority of tunes, like the tambourine shake during “Curtains”.  

The tunes “Block of Ice” and “Ghost In The Trees” are the most garage rocking with a 50’s beat and warped riffs swimming through the murky sound directly pointing to where the band were headed during their next phase while “Dumb Drums” pairs soothing singing and acoustic playing with the title track percussion. The dark country infused waltz “Make Them Kiss” and the folksy “If Had A Reason” have bird chirps and chimes to mix in the organic feel with a sense of foreboding, such as on the pulsing western ballad “Dreadful Heart”.  

The title track with its warbling saw accents from Mullins and excellent acoustic picking is an album highlight but it also displays a frustrating aspect of this record as Dawson and Dwyer’s vocals are so buried that the lyrics are impossible to fully engage with. “Golden Phones” winningly injects the saw work and restrained strumming for phantasmal results but again the lyrics are mainly lost to the ether.      

In the end, this is a transitional and odd live album from a band which continues to make music, going on twenty plus years since their formation. Thee Hounds of Foggy Notion is an interesting snapshot of Thee Oh See’s and now is as good a time as any to revisit these unique sounds.  

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