Intercepted Message
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Intercepted Message
| type = studio
| artist = Osees
| cover = Osees - Intercepted Message.png
| alt = A computer graphic of a skull with several cables overlaid on it
| released = {{Start date|2023|08|18}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre = Synth-rock
| length = 41:19
| label = In the Red
| producer = John Dwyer
| prev_title = A Foul Form
| prev_year = 2022
| next_title = Sorcs 80
| next_year = 2024
| misc =
}}
Intercepted Message is the twenty-seventh studio album by American garage rock band Osees, released on August 18, 2023, by In the Red Records.{{cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2224256/osees-intercepted-message/music/|title=Osees Announce New Album Intercepted Message: Hear The Title Track|website=Stereogum|last=DeVille|first=Chris|date=May 19, 2023|access-date=August 17, 2023}} The release has been given positive reviews by critics.
Critical reception
{{Music ratings
| MC = 84/100{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/intercepted-message/osees|title=Intercepted Message by Osees Reviews and Tracks|website=Metacritic|access-date=August 20, 2023}}
| rev1 = The Arts Desk
| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://theartsdesk.com/new-music/album-osees-intercepted-message|title=Album: Osees – Intercepted Message review: Caveman synth-rock with hidden sophistication but primal power|website=The Arts Desk|last=Muggs|first=Joe|date=August 14, 2023|access-date=August 17, 2023}}
| rev2 = Hot Press
| rev2score = 7/10{{cite magazine|url=https://www.hotpress.com/opinion/album-review-osees-intercepted-message-22983999|title=Album Review: Osees, Intercepted Message|magazine=Hot Press|last=McFee|first=Edwin|date=August 16, 2023|access-date=August 17, 2023}}
| rev3 = Loud and Quiet
| rev3score = 5/10{{cite web|url=https://www.loudandquiet.com/reviews/osees-intercepted-message/|title=OSees – Intercepted Message – Album Review|website=Loud and Quiet|last=Cortassa|first=Guia|date=August 14, 2023|access-date=August 17, 2023}}
| rev4 = Pitchfork
| rev4score = 6.9/10{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/osees-intercepted-message/|title=Osees: Intercepted Message Album Review|website=Pitchfork|last=Minsker|first=Evan|date=August 29, 2023|access-date=August 29, 2023}}
| rev5 = Riff Magazine
}}
Intercepted Message scored 84 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on four critics' reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Edwin McFee of Hot Press called it "a fun romp down memory lane, from a band who refuse to remain in one place for too long" and concluded that "while not everything hits the mark, Intercepted Message is still an enjoyable chapter in the group's storied career". Joe Muggs, reviewing the album for The Arts Desk, described it as "an extremely simple record. It is big, stomping, party-monster neanderthal synth-rock" with "no new sounds [...]: the structures are classic garage punk, [and] the synthesisers' growl and squeal sounds like some jerry-rigged setup from the 1970s". David Gill of Riff Magazine wrote that the album "tempers the lo-fi punk energy of 2022's Metamorphosed with synthesizers and silliness" and "some of the songs offer obvious, new influences". Guia Cortassa of Loud and Quiet called it "a pity that [Dwyer's] bombastic promises were not kept in the music. However tight and uptempo they may be, the 12 tracks sound tired and knackered almost from the beginning". Pitchfork{{'}}s Evan Minsker wrote that "from synth pop to new wave to disco, the shapeshifting rock band goes all in on its keyboard album", but concluded that "the threads that bind these songs are loose and inconsistent, which might be given for a band that moves fast and jumps from one subgenre micro-era to the next".
Track listing
{{Track listing
| headline = Intercepted Message track listing
| title1 = Stunner
| length1 = 2:44
| title2 = Blank Chems
| length2 = 4:15
| title3 = Intercepted Message
| length3 = 3:26
| title4 = Die Laughing
| length4 = 4:10
| title5 = Unusual & Cruel
| length5 = 3:22
| title6 = The Fish Needs a Bike
| note6 = originally by Blurt
| length6 = 3:17
| title7 = Goon
| length7 = 2:12
| title8 = Chaos Heart
| length8 = 2:46
| title9 = Submerged Building
| length9 = 2:49
| title10 = Sleazoid Psycho
| length10 = 3:09
| title11 = Always at Night
| length11 = 7:03
| title12 = LADWP Hold
| length12 = 2:01
| total_length = 41:19
}}
Personnel
Osees
- John Dwyer – guitar, vocals, synthesizers, percussion, assorted electronics, production, mixing
- Tim Hellman – bass guitar
- Tomas Dolas – keyboards, cello
- Dan Rincon – drums, percussion
- Paul Quattrone – drums, percussion, electric claps
Additional contributors
- JJ Golden – mastering
- Eric Bauer – mixing, engineering
- Mike Kriebel – mixing, engineering
- Elizaveta Boldyreva – engineering, violin
- Brad Caulkins – tenor saxophone
- Wes Greaves – artwork
- Jon Krop – layout
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Chart performance for Intercepted Message ! scope="col"| Chart (2023) ! scope="col"| Peak |
| {{album chart|Scotland|89|date=20230825|rowheader=true|access-date=August 26, 2023}} |
| {{album chart|UKIndependent|17|date=20230825|rowheader=true|access-date=August 26, 2023}} |