Comments (1) Best Indie Music Genius - 2009
John Dwyer of Thee Oh Sees
In every city, there's usually one musician defining the epicenter of a scene. In San Francisco, that person is John Dwyer, who can be counted on to stir a wild, art-damaged ruckus no matter the band. He has held the title of S.F.'s sultan of spazz for nearly a decade, starting with his stint in a flesh-hued body suit as the guitar-wielding half of noise punks Pink & Brown. From there he has morphed into a faux German technocrat in Zeigenbock Kopf, cranked up the distortion pedal for garage rockers Coachwhips, and bashed a kit in Drums. While every Dwyer offshoot delivers a unique play on manic expression, it's his current stint as Thee Oh Sees' frontman that's really elevating his cred nationally. That band offers the most complex, pop-driven Dwyer material to date, and it's excellent stuff. Like all things JD, this outfit is totally lo-fi, layering the distortion on thick alongside its singer's singular yelps. But the group also accelerates through infinite hooks, keeping our music man on the lunatic fringe as he exponentially increases his popularity.
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