Orc is the nineteenth studio album by American garage rock band Oh Sees, released on August 25, 2017, on Castle Face Records. It is the band's first studio album to be released under the name Oh Sees, after it was announced that they would be dropping Thee from their name.[1]
| Orc | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 25, 2017 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 50:04 | |||
| Label | Castle Face | |||
| Producer |
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| Oh Sees chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Orc | ||||
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Co-produced by John Dwyer, Eric Bauer, Ty Segall and Enrique Tena, it is the band's first album to feature drummer Paul Quattrone, and is the first album in nine years to not feature recording engineer and regular collaborator Chris Woodhouse.
Critical reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 79/100[2] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Pitchfork | 7.4/10[4] |
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Orc received an average score of 79, based on 18 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[2]
Among the critics providing praise for the album was Tim Sendra of AllMusic, who stated that "Orc is another classic Oh Sees album that shows no signs of wear and tear anyplace in the operation."[3]
Accolades
edit| Publication | Accolade | Year | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rough Trade | Albums of the Year | 2017 | 36
|
|
| Uncut | Albums of the Year | 2017 | 33
|
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Static God" | 4:20 |
| 2. | "Nite Expo" | 2:57 |
| 3. | "Animated Violence" | 5:06 |
| 4. | "Keys to the Castle" | 8:10 |
| 5. | "Jettisoned" | 5:14 |
| 6. | "Cadaver Dog" | 4:50 |
| 7. | "Paranoise" | 4:28 |
| 8. | "Cooling Tower" | 3:35 |
| 9. | "Drowned Beast" | 5:02 |
| 10. | "Raw Optics" | 6:22 |
Personnel
editCredits adapted from AllMusic.[7]
Oh Sees
- John Dwyer – guitar, vocals, Mellotron, synths, flute, recorder, fife, hand percussion, Wurlitzer C3, Wurlitzer Electric Piano, sampling
- Tim Hellman – bass
- Dan Rincon – drums
- Paul Quattrone – drums
Additional musicians
- Brigid Dawson – vocals on "Nite Expo", "Keys to the Castle" and "Cadaver Dog"
- Joe Cueto – viola, violin on "Keys to the Castle" and "Drowned Beast"
Technical personnel
- Robery Beatty – artwork
- Eric Bauer – engineering, mixing, production
- JJ Golden – mastering
- Matthew Jones – layout
- Ty Segall – engineering, production
- Enrique Tena – engineering, mixing, production
Charts
edit| Chart (2017) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[8] | 183 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[9] | 181 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard)[10] | 23 |
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[11] | 5 |
References
edit- ^ Kaye, Ben. "Oh Sees (fka Thee Oh Sees) announce new album, Orc, share "The Static God" — listen". Consequence of Sound. Consequence Holdings, LLC. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
- ^ a b "Reviews and Tracks for Orc by Oh Sees". Metacritic. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
- ^ a b Sendra, Tim. "Orc – Thee Oh Sees". AllMusic. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
- ^ Berman, Stuart. "Orc - Oh Sees". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
- ^ "Albums of the Year". Rough Trade. November 14, 2017. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
- ^ "Uncut's 75 Best Albums of 2017". Uncut. November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
- ^ "Orc – Thee Oh Sees|Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Oh Sees – Orc" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Oh Sees – Orc" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
- ^ "Oh Sees Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
- ^ "Oh Sees Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2017.