OSEES/POPULATION II – LIVE @ THE BEACHLAND BALLROOM
By Eric Rauert
Arriving with Michael (my new photographer: welcome!), we pushed up close stage left to get a great spot for what I knew was to be an intense show. The crowd was already packed for the opener, as Osees have a good habit of picking incredible opening bands to travel with them. Tonight was no exception.
Hailing from Montreal, Population II is a three piece psych rock band composed of Pierre-Luc Gratton (Vocals/Drums), Tristan Lacombe (Guitar/Keyboards), and Sebastien Provencal (Bass). These guys simultaneously sound like every psych rock band I’ve heard (and heavily like French band SLIFT) while somehow sounding completely unique.
The fuzz and distortion are here with a heavy dose of creativity and I’m all for it. Hot and heavy psych rock would give way to jazz that continued to rock but it all felt rather experimental. Lacombe slung his guitar over his back several times to play exclusively the keys, breaking down into funky piano melodies in place of wailing psych guitar that plays well which created a lighter but more complex sound.
One can hear the wide range of heavy to more dreamlike psych rock in their music and Population II channels this variety to great effect live. When playing quietly or carefully however, their stage presence seemed a little timid. This was not the case when the band forewent the mic and simply rocked out, focusing amongst themselves to bring some of the best riffs of their set. Lacombe’s playing is splendidly sludgy, Gratton might as well be a jazz drummer, and Provencal’s mix is loud in order to hear his sublime backing bass added to the chaos. With one album and a handful of single releases, I look forward to seeing what this Canadian threesome does in the future.
Renowned microphone swallower John Dwyer (Vocals/Guitar) and his band of merry musicians have gone by several names (and lineups) since their founding in 1997: Orinoka Crash Suite, OCS, Thee Oh Sees, Oh Sees, and a few more. I learned for the first time researching this piece that he does this because it seems to “aggravate the press… [and] I have nothing but contempt for the music press.” So, here’s a contemptuous writeup for a contemptuous man. Just kidding: these guys are keeping rock alive and I can’t say enough about them.
The current iteration, Osees, is a five piece with two drummers (Paul Quattrone and Dan Rincon), bassist (Tim Hellman), and keyboardist (Tomas Dolas) accompanying founding member Dwyer on stage. This prolific group is hard to define with a single sound, their last three albums collectively consisting of kraut rock extended songs, a hard punk album, and a cover of the Los Angeles Water Department hold music (it’s a jam) among other releases. What these guys always are is fast and heavy, and with over 20 albums of content, they have a deep catalogue to pull from as well.
Dwyer approached the stage with a handful of burning sage, I’m told to clear the bad energy and promote relaxation. There wasn’t a bad vibe all night but it was clear from the get go that the next hour and a half was to be anything but relaxing.
We were sonically kicked in the face right away with “Withered Hand” and the energy only let up in the breaks between songs. “Toe Cutter – Thumb Buster” and “The Dream” were two early favorites of mine, played much heavier and faster than the studio. “The Dream” specifically has such a driving rhythm from Dwyer, it’s impossible to stay still and I found myself being sub-consciously pulled toward the mosh pit to join the fun.
Quattrone and Rincon often play their kits in sync but their ability to play asynchronously is even more impressive. They’re working so hard that its difficult to pick up but polyrhythmic drumming on songs like “Encrypted Bounce” keep the music interesting for the nerds like me while at the same time rocking so hard it should be illegal. There’s nothing pretentious about any of this music though, its just pure face melting joy and you can tell all five are having a ton of fun on stage.
So much fun in fact that about halfway through Dwyer and Hellman had a fake fight, with Dwyer skipping a song perhaps simply because the bass was too groovy. Around this time we were also graced with the first taste of their new album, Intercepted Message, with the song of the same name. This is synth heavy and light for Osees but it’s killer live, giving space to Dolas on the keys to bring some truly alien sounds to the mix.
Electronica gave way to three songs off punk album A Foul Form in a quick burst. I hope I don’t understate the absolutely primal nature of this album. “Funeral Solution” and “Foul Form” specifically bring that punk growl while shredding far beyond the usual three chords. The guitar is fast, the drums are loud, and the songs are short: punk ain’t dead baby, it’s just playing to 800 people on a Sunday night. The crowd erupted for a solid ten minutes while the five didn’t let up, only resting for a short breath before digging into the remainder of the show.
The last few songs saw the continuation of absolutely brutal energy both on stage and off. Crowd surfer after crowd surfer made their way toward the stage along the edges, as the mosh was too rowdy to form a solid surface. Dwyer and crew delivered on songs like “Terminal Jape” and “The Static God”, the former featuring Dwyer on some of my favorite vocals of the evening.
“C” was our last song, generally cutting the pace overall with its groovy over heavy sound. But little did I know we would be getting a heavily improvised jam in the middle. Dwyer featured heavily at first, finding some new sounds on both his guitar and synth. The other four members built to a crescendo, jamming in the typical Osees wall of sound fashion before crashing into the sweaty finale to close the show.
Osees continue to prove themselves as one of the greatest live bands touring today. This band works too hard and has such a varied range of music to not find something to love about them. Dwyer channels his many years of experience on guitar while curating a great menagerie of musicians and friends to play some insane rock-centric music. I don’t know when the lineup will change again but this iteration is a strong showing in a band with such a storied history.
Out of curiosity, I looked up the setlist from 2022 when I saw them last. The setlist was basically the same, save for a few picks off new albums released in that time. I honestly didn’t care or notice at all during the show, as the energy of the band and music simply took over for a mind melting main act.
In fact, its hard to go back and listen to the studio albums knowing how they could sound just so damn incredible and full of piss and vinegar. So this will be my only critique: Osees have ruined listening to their own studio albums for me because the band is just so good live. Catch them the next time they’re in your city, although who knows what name Dwyer will have come up with by then just to spite me.
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