PREMIERE: Oh Sees Dedicate “Captain Loosely” Video to Victims of the El Paso Massacre

The ambient new single from “Face Stabber” is paired with an eerie video.
PREMIERE: Oh Sees Dedicate “Captain Loosely” Video to Victims of the El Paso Massacre

The ambient new single from “Face Stabber” is paired with an eerie video.

Words: Mike LeSuer

August 06, 2019

As always, there’s a new Oh Sees record coming out soon—and, as always, we still have no idea what to expect even after a handful of tracks have been released. The first three singles on the massive double LP range from jazz fusion to garage punk, with the band helpfully describing the album as “SoundCloud hip-hop reversed, a far-flung nemesis of contemporary country and flaccid algorithmic pop-barf.”

As expected, the fourth single is totally unexpected: a five-minute instrumental cut matching the beauty of the instrumental “Cooling Tower” on 2017’s Orc. “Captain Loosely,” however, is a sound collage mixing ambient electronic bloops with stray saxophone notes—a uniquely somber track from a group known for face-melting riffs and forays into cartoonish vocal performances. 

Even more somber is the video accompanying the track, a montage comprised of still shots of human bones and colorful gravesites juxtaposed with closeups of butterflies and US border patrol agents. Filmed in El Paso, the clip is dedicated to those who lost their lives this past weekend at a shopping center when a white supremacist opened fire. “This video is a space for reflection,” notes director Matt Yoka. “How has this bad dream become our reality? Now, with news of the hateful massacre that occurred in El Paso…I fear we are slipping further into a nightmare. I pray that love and empathy will wake us up soon.”

Additionally, Oh Sees issued a statement on the tragedy, which you can read along with their upcoming tour dates (including an August 9 benefit show for East LA’s Women’s Center) beneath the video.

Face Stabber is out August 16 via Castle Face Records. You can pre-order it here.

In reflection of the very recent murder of innocents in El Paso, we send our love to the victims and the victims’ families. We record in Tornillo, TX (right near El Paso) and are very much in love with the people and families of these border cities. We paired up with Matt Yoka to make this minute dreamscape of life and commotion on the border in these often brutal times. People from anywhere on the planet have the right to ask for asylum in our country. This is one of the building blocks of our nation that we are failing to uphold. Hate and fear have been a cancer in the dark corners of our country through its history, violently making its way to the surface. We must resist and fight this evil at all costs. — Love, Oh Sees

Tour Dates:

August

9 Pioneertown, CA Pappy and Harriet’s
23 Charleville Cabaret Vert festival
24 Guéret Check-in Festival
27 Ravenna Hana-Bi (Free)
29 Vienna Arena
30 Munich Strom
31 Berlin Kreuzberg Festsaal

September

1 Brussels Les Botaniquesen
3 Bordeaux BT 59
4 Toulouse Le Bikini
5 Paris Le Bataclan
6 London Troxy
7 Amsterdam Paradiso
30 San Francisco, CA The Chapel

October

1 San Francisco, CA The Chapel
2 San Francisco, CA The Chapel
4 Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom
7 Vancouver, BC Rickshaw Theatre
10 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue Ballroom
11 Chicago, IL Thalia Hall
12 Chicago, IL Thalia Hall
14 Toronto, ON Danforth Music Hall
15 Montreal, QC Le National
16 Cambridge, MA The Sinclair
18 Brooklyn, NY Warsaw
19 Brooklyn, NY Warsaw
20 Brooklyn, NY Warsaw
22 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
23 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
24 Nashville, TN Mercy Lounge
25 New Orleans, LA One Eyed Jacks
26 Austin TX Hotel Vegas
27 Austin, TX Hotel Vegas
29 Albuquerque, NM Sister Bar
31 Los Angeles, CA Teragram Ballroom