Putrifiers 2

Thee Oh Sees have progressed from main man John Dwyer's noise punk roots in Coachwhips and Pink and Brown into a sprawling beast that hoovers up psychedelic, garage, acid-streaked rock, and even battered folk influences.

If one prefers a slightly more subtle musical awakening, there's always Putrifiers ii, the latest in a long line of Oh Sees albums that expands the group's sound well past your friendly neighbourhood garage band.

So while the space-odyssey nods of "Wax Face" actually sound like they're meant to melt one's ears straight off, the record's full of deviant detours, from the poison-tipped string parts and Eno-esque engineering of "so nice" to the groove-locked Krautrock inclinations of "Lupine Dominus."

The most noticeable element may be Dwyer's melodies, however, as they reveal a softer side to his songwriting, one that makes perfect sense considering just how disparate his dust-clearing influences are.

Scott Walker, The Velvet Underground, the Zombies and the experimental Japanese act Les Rallizes Denudes are but a small taste of what informed thee oh sees this time around, as Dwyer returned to the multi-instrumental ways of Castlemania's full-band sessions.

Rounded out a fuller, drier sound with drummer / engineer Chris Woodhouse and special guests like Mikal Cronin (sax), Heidi Maureen Alexander (trumpet, vocals) and K Dylan Edrich (viola).