{{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]]<ref name="TAD"/> | length = 41:19 | label = [[In the Red Records|In the Red]] | producer = [[John Dwyer (musician)|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]].<ref>{{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}}</ref> The release has been given positive reviews by critics.
==Critical reception== {{Music ratings | MC = 84/100<ref name="MC">{{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}}</ref> | rev1 = ''[[The Arts Desk]]'' | rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="TAD">{{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}}</ref> | rev2 = ''[[Hot Press]]'' | rev2score = 7/10<ref name="HP">{{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}}</ref> | rev3 = ''[[Loud and Quiet]]'' | rev3score = 5/10<ref name="LAQ">{{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}}</ref> | rev4 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' | rev4score = 6.9/10<ref name="PF">{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/osees-intercepted-message/|title=Osees: ''Intercepted Message'' Album Review|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|last=Minsker|first=Evan|date=August 29, 2023|access-date=August 29, 2023}}</ref> | rev5 = ''Riff Magazine'' | rev5score = 8/10<ref name="Riff">{{cite web|url=https://riffmagazine.com/album-reviews/osees-intercepted-message/|title=Album Review: Osees set the controls for the heart of the machine on ''Intercepted Message''|website=Riff Magazine|last=Gill|first=David|date=August 12, 2023|access-date=August 17, 2023}}</ref> }} ''Intercepted Message'' scored 84 out of 100 on review aggregator [[Metacritic]] based on four critics' reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref name="MC"/> 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".<ref name="HP"/> 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".<ref name="TAD"/> David Gill of ''Riff Magazine'' wrote that the album "tempers the lo-fi punk energy of 2022's ''[[Metamorphosed (album)|Metamorphosed]]'' with synthesizers and silliness" and "some of the songs offer obvious, new influences".<ref name="Riff"/> 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".<ref name="LAQ"/> ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''{{'}}s Evan Minsker wrote that "from [[synth pop]] to [[New wave music|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".<ref name="PF"/>
==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 = [[Opus Number One|Opus No. 1]] | note12 = {{aka}} "LADWP Hold" | length12 = 2:01 | total_length = 41:19 }}
==Personnel== '''Osees''' * [[John Dwyer (musician)|John Dwyer]] – guitar, vocals, synthesizers, percussion, assorted [[Electronic musical instrument|electronics]], [[Record producer|production]], [[Audio mixing (recorded music)|mixing]] * Tim Hellman – bass guitar * Tomas Dolas – keyboards, cello * Dan Rincon – drums, percussion * Paul Quattrone – drums, percussion, electric claps
'''Additional contributors''' * JJ Golden – [[Mastering (audio)|mastering]] * Eric Bauer – mixing, [[Audio engineer|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<br />position |- {{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}} |}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Oh Sees}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:2023 albums]] [[Category:Albums produced by John Dwyer (musician)]] [[Category:In the Red Records albums]] [[Category:Osees albums]]