Cara Maluco EP

Osees — 2026

“Loose, loud, and gone in fifteen minutes. This EP is a quick-hit reminder of why Osees never get boring.”

John Dwyer has been making noise under a rotating set of names for over two decades now. You might know the band as Thee Oh Sees, The Oh Sees, OCS, or just plain Osees. His group has shifted shape many times over the years, moving from quiet, hazy folk to warped pop to sprawling krautrock and back again, all depending on whatever Dwyer felt like doing at the time. The guy doesn’t slow down. Just last year the band put out Abomination Revealed At Last, and now, with basically no warning, they’ve dropped Cara Maluco, a four song EP on Deathgod Records. The band described it simply as “a couple fried trippers and a couple tight dance punk numbers” which is honestly a fair enough summary. It clocks in at over fifteen minutes, so it goes by fast, but there’s enough going on and longtime fans will love it.

I think the best way to put it is that this EP sounds like Osees in a loose, unguarded moment. The title track “Cara Maluco” is the big one, running past seven minutes and leaning into slow, heavy psych rock with fuzzy guitars and Dwyer’s signature warbled vocals sitting on top. The back half of the EP flips the mood completely. “Synaptic Static” and “Joy in Oblivion” are short, quick shots of garage punk energy that don’t overstay their welcome. Two tracks breathe and sprawl, two that are in and out before you know it but all four bring that Osees high energy. I like that contrast. It keeps the EP from feeling one note even if it doesn’t totally hang together as one piece.

Fans who felt like Osees had been getting heavier and more aggressive over the past few records will probably notice that Cara Maluco pulls back toward their older, looser sound. The title track especially brings to mind the kind of long, free moving psych jams the band was making around the Face Stabber era with a heavy riff. It’s not quite as raw and crushing as Abomination Revealed At Last, and I think that’s intentional. This one feels more like a band letting off steam in the studio than a full statement. It’s like if you could describe Osees in a good mood, you get this EP.

If you want to find other bands in this area, Dwyer’s own side project Damaged Bug is worth checking out, though it goes in weirder directions. Outside of his own world, bands like Ty Segall, White Fence, and earlier King Tuff cover similar ground in California garage and psych rock. For the krautrock side of things on tracks like “Synaptic Static,” Can and early Neu! And maybe some injected Devo are good reference points.

“Cara Maluco” is the track I keep coming back to. The first four or so minutes build really well, with the guitars locking in and the whole thing taking on a heavy, trance-like quality. It loses some of that energy toward the end as it fades out, which is a little frustrating, but the peak of that song is worth the ride. The closing “Joy in Oblivion” is the other standout for me. At just under two minutes, it’s the most focused thing here, with a guitar line that sticks in your head and enough wild energy to remind you why this band has such a loyal following. “Synaptic Static” is a close third. It’s short and bright and gets the job done. “Joro” is probably the weakest of the four, with vocals that feel a bit disconnected from the rest of the track, though the instrumental parts hold up fine on their own.

Lyrics have never really been the main point with Osees, and Cara Maluco is no different. Dwyer’s voice mostly functions as another texture in the mix rather than a vehicle for storytelling. On the title track the vocals are more about mood than meaning, sitting back in the sound and adding to the overall foggy atmosphere. “Synaptic Static” hints at something more direct, with a sharper, more pointed delivery, but it goes by so fast there’s not much time to sit with it. Lyrical depth isn’t really the point here. Dwyer’s vocals work more like another instrument in the mix, and honestly, that’s always been part of the deal with this band.

Cara Maluco is a good EP. Especially for being a surprise. I think it works best as a between albums snack rather than a destination on its own. Some of it really lands, and some of it feels like it needed one more pass before it was done. Worth your fifteen minutes, especially if you’ve been with this band for a while.