ZUZAX

Damaged Bug — 2026

“A restless, genre-hopping trip where groove, grit, and weirdness collide in all the right ways.”

John Dwyer has been one of the most productive musicians in underground rock for the better part of two decades, best known as the main force behind Osees (also known as Oh Sees, OCS, and about a dozen other variations). Damaged Bug is his solo outlet, a project where he operates with even fewer guardrails than he does with his main band. ZUZAX marks the first Damaged Bug release since the 2020 LP Bug On Yonkers. Dwyer recorded the material himself over a seven-year stretch between 2018 and 2025, gradually shaping the songs while juggling other projects and releases. The backstory here is pretty telling. Over those seven years, Dwyer collected over 40 potential Damaged Bug songs and refined 11 of them in unconventional ways to create this fifth Damaged Bug album. It was a long time coming, and you can kind of feel that when you listen with the stylistic range you hear in the 40-minute sitting.

ZUZAX brings the pounding krautish grooves you might expect. The Dwyer chaos is here, balanced by some unexpected turns: brooding, low-register ballads that echo Mark Lanegan, plus touches of ’70s fusion jazz, a Prince moment and Afrobeat swing. The synth work runs all over the place in a good way. “END OF THE WAR” finds Dwyer leaning into his take on sugary pop beats, where cheerful and traditional sounding harmonies sing dark lyrics that trade the spotlight with a synthesizer that sounds like an angry robot starting to short circuit. Certain parts of this record can be both weird and infectious at the same time. I think that pretty much sums up what this record is going for across its 11 tracks.

Compared to Bug On Yonkers, ZUZAX feels wider in scope as it steps through so many different genres. Dwyer has always been willing to go sideways on a Damaged Bug record, but this one covers more ground than anything he has put out under this name before. Damaged Bug has always been more open ended and this record follows that script. I like that he is not trying to make a polished record here. The rough edges are part of what makes it work.

If you listen to Osees and want something in that same orbit, this will work for you. Beyond that, fans of Ty Segall, Wooden Shjips, Circus Devils and early Black Lips will enjoy this album. The gothic baritone a jazz side of the record pulls from somewhere closer Nick Cave, which is not a comparison you would expect to make about a John Dwyer record. Fans of Can, Neu!, and other krautrock groups will also recognize what he is doing rhythmically on several of these tracks.

“OVER-EXPOSED” is a standout. It is a slow burning jazzy track that features Dwyer’s own take on doo-wop vocal moves. I think it might be the best thing here as it so much different than any other Dwyer material. “HOAK” is a burst of funky drums and raw energy, and “MOZZY ROOVES & MORE” carries a furious drumming style and rhythms that would fit in nicely on a Budos Band record. “END OF THE WAR” is the obvious entry point and a strong single, but “FRIED HANDS” and the funky Prince like track “JUNK FOOD” are worth sitting with too.

Lyrically and emotionally the record feels tuned to right now. There is escape built into the grooves, but also a lot of reflection. Dwyer frames it as a way to reset, forgive, and keep moving. The mood swings between light and dark, landing somewhere that feels honest and lived in. I would not call Dwyer a traditional lyricist. His words tend to serve the sonic mood more than tell a clear story. That works on a record like this, where the tone shifts so much from track to track. The themes of hope and forgiveness come through more in the feel of the songs than in any single line you could point to.

ZUZAX is not Dwyer’s most focused record, and that is both its strength and its weakness. The record gathers songs that shift between twisted pop frameworks, skewed melodic lines, and kinetic rhythms, that give a very honest free-flowing but Dwyer engaging sense of drive. Some listeners may wish it had a tighter edit, and there are moments where the scattershot approach makes it hard to stay locked in. But for fans who are already on board with what Damaged Bug does, this is a satisfying and at times surprising listen. If ZUZAX is a studio cleanout, it’s the kind where you find something better than what you were looking for. As always is always worth watching where Dwyer takes Damaged Bug next, because this record showcases all the places he has been.