As consistent as he is prolific, San Francisco-based John Dwyer has been exploring fuzzed-up psych-rock under various names for almost 20 years now. His ninth album as Thee Oh Sees has its fair share of songs that resemble long-lost Nuggets-era gems (Withered Hand and Rogue Planet are particularly bracing). But there is light and shade amid the trademark distortion: the proggy seven-minute Sticky Hulks opens with a pretty organ motif before Dwyer’s guitar crashes in, and Holy Smoke showcases a talent that doesn’t always have to hide behind amplification.
