Thee Oh Sees | “Ghost in the Trees”

ART OF SONG
Thee Oh Sees
“Ghost in the Trees”
The Master’s Bedroom is Worth Spending a Night In
2008 | Tomlab

Put on your imagination hats, kids, it’s time to get hypothetical. It’s a hot summer night, and the air is heavy and damp. It’s dark and the moon is mostly covered by thick clouds, leaving you with limited visibility and a sense of adventure. You’re standing in front of a giant old haunted house, on a grassy lawn with weeping willows and other foliage that looks creepy in the dark. Do you go inside?

I probably wouldn’t.

But it doesn’t matter, the ghosts are in the trees.

With a “one-two-three-four!” the chugging bassline starts, and suddenly you are surrounded by otherworldly visitors. These visitors? They’re called Thee Oh Sees.

Formerly known as Orinoka Crash Suite, the Orange County Sound, the Oh Sees, The Ohsees, and a bunch of other names/spellings I don’t have the space for, Thee Oh Sees are a lo-fi San Francisco based group. I managed to see them at the Woodsist & Captured Tracks Festival, (though I missed their set at Siren Fest), but they’ll be back in New York in October if you’re curious.

I would really love to tell you the lyrics to this song, and offer an in-depth analysis of their meanings. But this is not that kind of song. In fact, as I listened to it on repeat, struggling to glean words out of Thee Oh Sees’ melodic shrieks, this is about as far as I managed to get. “I can see, I can see you / You’re shaking the leaves.” And something about “hiding behind a waterfall,” I think (maybe).

“Ghost in the Trees” is a messy collision of garage rock musicianship (and recording quality, let’s be honest) with No-Age or Vivian Girls-esque indie-pop. But what makes this song, for me at least, is the banshee-like shrieks that end the lines, in combination with that relentless riff. It’s the kind of song that gets stuck in your head, but then leaves you with no actual way of getting it out, because singing it makes you look like an idiot. Plus no one knows the words.

The layered male/female vocals add to the supernatural quality, as does the sliding guitar work that takes place during the middle of the song. The vocals squeal, and the guitar is waiting right there to catch up. It’s almost a tug-of-war between the two, as if two ghosts with nothing better to do decided to get into a noise-off. The crunches and squeaks add to the effect (no, really) during the breakdown, which gives the guitar victory in the battle, though I think the vocals won the war.

And just like that, it’s over. The song is only 2:15, in keeping with Thee Oh Sees garage rock sensibilities. And in a way, that’s perfect, because the genius of the song is in its compact execution. The minimal lyrics and carefully measured proportions of noise and melody create something both unique and listenable, traits which, together, are getting harder and harder to come by.

If this is the kind of party spectres have, I’d be happy to RSVP “attending.” Personally I’m just glad these are friendly ghosts.

by allison levin