Thee Oh Sees – Floating Coffin

Thee Oh Sees – Floating Coffin (Castle Face)

John Dwyer and his brainchild, San Francisco’s Thee Oh Sees, have released dozens of albums, EPs, and 7-inches over their seven-year existence. All that restlessness has yielded a discography famous for shapeshifting. Their latest, 2012’s Putrifiers II, featured an eclectic mix of everything they’d done before, from garage rock to psychedelia, krautrock, drone, pop, and folk. On its more focused follow-up, Floating Coffin, they navigate a sonic Styx between heavenly melodies and blazing tempos, but the balance makes it clear this particular album is going to hell. It’s so good and goes by so damned fast, I feel like I just spun 360 degrees after being punched in the face. Is this strawberry juice or blood on my hands?! I think I’ll have to abuse drugs, this album, or both to find out.