Sad news for all who enjoy Thee Oh Sees’ gloriously ramshackle, psychedelic garage rock—or just live music in general. The San Francisco-based crew has announced an indefinite hiatus, ending for the time being a prolific, candle-burning-half-as-long-but-twice-as-bright career that’s seen it release an impressively steady stream of records over the past decade, while building up an army of followers through its relentless, relentlessly energetic touring shows. Frontman John Dwyer casually made the announcement at one of its recent hometown gigs that it would be “the last Oh Sees show for a long while,” with the band’s booking agent, Annie Southworth, subsequently confirming to SF Weekly that “they need a break after five years straight, so yes… hiatus time.”
Much of that break is due to Dwyer’s impending relocation to L.A., as Southworth explains he’s been watching the transformation of his Mission neighborhood—and San Francisco as a whole—and is officially “over it.” Meanwhile, the band’s keyboardist and vocalist Brigid Dawson is also moving to Santa Cruz, leaving the group’s members scattered across California—and the future of the band in question. “Cross fingers, we all are that it's not completely over,” Southworth said. [via Pitchfork]