John Dwyer of Osees - In Conversation
Interview & foreword by Beau Croxton
John Dwyer of Osees by Thomas Girard
For our fifth cover story and the next installment of our interview series— In Conversation, we are thrilled to have John Dwyer of Osees.
John Paul Dwyer (aka JPD) is a legendary and prolific musician best known as the frontman and primary songwriter of Osees (formerly Thee Oh Sees, Oh Sees, and OCS). Anyone aware of JPD’s legacy knows he is a highly influential artist who has led the charge in modern psych, garage rock, noise-rock and fuzz-rock. John Dwyer has been a significant driving force behind underground rock for many decades— just about everywhere you look in the psych/garage rock scene these days, you will find Dwyer’s influence.
Dwyer has always had one of the most iconic stage presences out there– he is purely feral, often pulling his guitar up to breast-height, shaking convulsively, sticking out his tongue and harnessing pure adrenaline from the first note to the last. The band has had many lineup changes over the years, but they really hit their stride towards the end of the 2010’s when they locked their current lineup— with the drummer duo of Paul Quattrone and Dan Rincon. With these thunderous drummers, the Osees modern lineup is in its prime, and well equipped to rile up their cult-like fanbase into manic frenzies in the mosh pit.
John Dwyer of Osees by Thomas Girard
The group entered the 2020’s as “Osees” with their album Protean Threat, which expanded on some threads built by their new lineup in Orc. But it was in 2022, where a stylistic pattern emerged and they started releasing what I personally view as a series of studio albums. They released 1 album per year with a corresponding tour to follow, and at the heart of each album was a very lively and intense punk rock spirit. They slightly altered that formula with each consecutive release.
In 2022, —- their 26th(!) album A Foul Form kicked it off, and it rang true to the band’s old-school punk and hardcore influences such as Black Flag, Rudimentary Peni and Bad Brains. 2023’s Intercepted Message expanded on those simple, punky, verse/chorus-style tracks– but this time, they ditched the hardcore in favor of a synth-heavy, new-wave, garage-rock fusion that delivered supremely catchy hooks. In 2024, the band released SORCS 80, which was a very ambitious project; John and the band's keyboard/synth player Tom Dolas recorded samples of tenor and baritone saxophones and played the samples on drum pads– it was an LP with a parameter of no guitar or keys. Despite the wacky ambition, variety and unique sonics, the majority of the record still carried the same primitive, hard hitting, punk-rock formula and spirit… it was "boneheaded in riff and heady in lyrics” as Dwyer described it.
This Friday, Osees release their 29th album Abomination Revealed At Last, which is an absolutely vicious ripper. The title and artwork tie back to 2015’s Mutilator Defeated At Last, and the new LP is billed as a maniacal and propulsive attack to the senses. Abomination Revealed At Last also serves as a fitting reaction to the current state of affairs and suffering in the world. Considering how 2025 has been going, you can't blame Osees for revamping the ultra-pissed off, raging, and often hardcore punk-rock of A Foul Form, as they frequently do on this album.
In addition to the high-octane punk, this record is equally defined by a gnarly mutation of the past and present– there are many dashes of their OG weirdo-garage-rock thrown in the mix that give Abomination Revealed At Last its own multifaceted personality with a pinch of nostalgia. Between the spacey Face Stabber jams of “Fight Simulator”, the “I Need Seed” goblin-voice revival on “Ashes 2”, and other Orc-esque excursions, the band spices up the raucous material in a very satisfying and classically-Osees way.
Ultimately– the Osees live shows are about to go nuclear with any additional Abomination tunes, because the set has been that much more insane since the A Foul Form tracks joined the setlist as mainstays.
After all, when times are tough– sometimes you need to rip, and the audience needs you to rip… its just that fucking simple, and it’s cathartic for all.
Ahead of the release, I caught up with John Dwyer on a number of things— the Osees Glastonbury performance, easter eggs in the Osees discography, the current climate of the world, scaring the shit out of their producer Enrique, and the recording of Abomination Revealed at Last in Texas.
Check it all out below.
BEAU CROXTON: The last 3 Osees records have all had their own specific identity, but to my ears, Abomination Revealed At Last shakes things up – it combines the elements of the last 3 or so Osees records with some earlier sounds of the band in a great way. What was the vibe and mentality going into creating the tracks for this record?
JOHN DWYER: As far as the music end of it, that was a conscious decision to bring in some of the more OG garage rock elements to maybe expand the palette of the album…People are smashed in the face everyday now, so I thought we'd give them a moment to come up for breath in the album rather than a non stop punker, like A Foul Form. But as always, we are also just throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks.
BEAU: I did see and appreciate the statement you made of the current “atrocities” directly inspiring the music of Abomination. What were some influences that you were channeling both musically and from life with this record?
JOHN: War. Genocide. Racism / Facism. Apathy . Class separation… Tech-bro billionaire shit-bags ruining people’s lives through endless scrolling of their shit posts and affecting the government and fate of our country along the way. I could go on and on, and honestly all of it is low hanging fruit here.
We don’t claim any great leaps forward with taking offense at the state of affairs, but now it seems like the American right and our current regime have embraced some seriously deranged and permanently damaging life choices for our country all under the auspices of “GOD” and other rationalizations to crush people spirits, and the cowardly behavior of simply not admitting their decisions are based in fear and greed. Own your belief and behavior.
I grew up going to parochial schools for 12 years. I grew up in churches on the east coast, I am familiar with Christ’s teachings, and none of these paths forward abide by any of the teachings of the Bible or the word of Christ. I also learned our country’s history (albeit half-heartedly) and I know selective memory and outright horseshit is fueling ignorance, deceit & breeding fear of our own citizens. They are keeping us spinning constantly as a tactic. If you are confused or beat down, you will subserve their agenda nicely.
John Dwyer of Osees by amdophoto
BEAU: One thing I really love about Abomination Revealed At Last is how live and raw sounding it is — what gear and production elements were central to the album’s sound?
JOHN: We recorded it in Tornillo, TX (right near the “baby jail” or “tent city” US immigration set-up in 2018, and thankfully closed a year later) . It is a really nice studio, but we are not precious with trying to polish things too much, never have been . I like things to sound relatively like they sound in person, especially with the more hardcore aspect of this album. So we run it to tape simply as possible, then mix on pro tools. I use the same amps I use live, but the drummers do switch to vintage wooden kits rather than vista lite kits. Again, just throw it against the wall and see what works.
BEAU: There's a clear parallel to Mutilator Defeated At Last with the album title and artwork, and this album arrives just after the ten year anniversary of Mutilator – With Abomination, are there more parallels/throwbacks to the earlier Osees discography?
JOHN: I think we leave a lot to interpret on our fans, and this thread from 10 years ago connecting to this recent LP is one of those things.. We are just points on a timeline after all…I think of albums almost like smell-memories where you hear something and you think of a specific moment in time.. ALSO I love a sequel.
BEAU: Osees have been a very drum-centric group for some time– and there is some insane drumming on this new record, like on “Glass Window” and “Ashes 2”. How big of a role does the drumming have in the writing process these days?
JOHN: It's everything. I bring demos to the band with my HORRID drumming and then rely on them to make it actually palatable.
1st photo by amdophoto / 2nd photo by Jinny Park
BEAU: That clip at the end of “Fight Simulator” cracks me up– where is that from?
JOHN: Every time we work with Enrique, I scare him somehow and this is him reacting to a mask with light up eyes I hung outside his bedroom window that night. He fucking hates it.
BEAU: I caught the Glastonbury Osees performance online, wow - it was incredible! How did you all enjoy the experience?
JOHN: It was actually alright and def less chaotic than I expected– as we had been warned. Total pro crew and stage hands- 10/10.
BEAU: Chime Oblivion was an excellent project with such an interesting crew. How are you feeling about that fruitful project being out in the world? Is a Chime Oblivion live show ever a possibility?
JOHN: It was a joy to record it. It was always intended as a studio project, so not likely.
BEAU: You're having a pretty eventful year so far. I did read about some potential Damaged Bug material to be released further down the pipeline too- what can you tell us about that?
JOHN: I'm assuming deep in the muck of hammering out that album now....more soon.
Osees by (left to right)— Dan Rincon, Tim Hellman, John Dwyer, Tom Dolas, and Paul Quattronne. photo by Titouan Masse
John Dwyer by Titouan Masse
BEAU: You have been so prolific, with dozens of records. What are you chasing when it comes to your new releases, and what do you find exciting about the process these days?
JOHN: I love every aspect of it– Which still surprises me that I'm not tired of it. I love writing, recording , mixing and playing live, I feel very fortunate that I still feel that way.
BEAU: We're looking forward to seeing you again at Warsaw here in Brooklyn, perhaps there will be some more epic crowd surfing from you during “Toe Cutter - Thumb Buster”. Are you particularly excited to perform the new material, or perhaps some throwbacks on this upcoming tour?
JOHN: I’m ALLLLLLL ABOUT IT. Love Warsaw, love NYC.
BEAU: What's next for you in the near future ?
JOHN: Painting show next year, and some other surprises… Good luck out there.
Abomination Revealed At Last is out this Friday August 8th. They play Warsaw in Brooklyn on October 25th & 26th and you can get tickets here.
You can purchase the vinyl directly on bandcamp— here
You can watch Osees perform the entirety of their 2024 album SORCS 80 on top of a skyscraper here.
You watch the band perform the entirety of 2023’s Intercepted Message album here.
You can watch the band’s KEXP session for 2022’s A Foul Form here.
You can watch their full Levitation sessions here (1) and here (2). (highly recommended)
You can purchase tickets & see their tour dates directly from their website here.