http://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/tcrmag/2014/04/2014-04-25d-tcrmag.mp3
The Golden Age of California garage rock? That was the ‘60s, of course — The Standells and the Count Five and all that. And there was a second Golden Age in the punk-new wave-roots-psychedelic-whatever resurgence in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Well, we are currently in a third Golden Age. Don’t believe it? Just put your ears to Thee Oh Sees’ song “Penetrating Eye.”
Thee Oh Sees have been at the crest of this fuzzed-out wave. And the Bay Area band’s leader, John Dwyer, is one of its prime movers along with Ty Segall and Mikal Cronin, in particular. Determined, dedicated and seemingly tireless young men, they’ve brought electrifying spirit and a sense of community to the scene. Well, maybe not entirely tireless, as Dwyer has already tired of the hiatus he announced for his band just five months ago. And so here we have a new album, “Drop,” released for Record Store Day, and a handful of shows coming up.
So Thee Oh Sees live. At least for now. And maybe the break, short as it was, recharged him, since the album has a lot of energy and range packed tightly into its compact 32 minutes.
The energy is expected. “Encrypted Bounce,” like “Penetrating Eye,” veers into the proto-metal territory of ‘60s Bay Area band Blue Cheer, spliced with the dark mystique of Texas’ 13th Floor Elevators. But with “Savage Victory” they cross eras with a bass pulse that might have been borrowed from the ‘80s England of New Order, though bathed in the mellotronic aura of the Rolling Stones’ “2000 Light Years From Home.”