They Live in My Head

by Bush Tetras

Overview

Noise-funk pioneers and no wave outliers the Bush Tetras were always a band with more talent and vision than luck, and just as they began receiving some well-deserved public reappraisal after the release of the excellent 2021 career overview Rhythm & Paranoia: The Best of the Bush Tetras, longtime drummer Dee Pop died, just days before the band was scheduled to play a show celebrating the collection's release. However, if you want to believe that fate often opens a window as it closes a door, it's worth noting that Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth, one of many bands that were influenced by the Bush Tetras, soon stepped forward to fill their empty drum stool. With Shelley also serving as producer, they cut an album, 2023's They Live in My Head, which shows they're still as vital, exciting, and singular as ever. Just as it's been since they formed in 1979, the Bush Tetras are guided by the angular skronk of guitarist Pat Place and the deadpan rage and joy of vocalist Cynthia Sley, and in 2023 they still haven't run out of interesting things to say about living in a corrupt world full of injustices large and small (especially if you're a woman with a mind of your own). "Ghosts of People," "I Am Not a Member," and "Things I Put Together" are all cracking exercises in the struggle to maintain dignity and sanity in a time of chaos, and in "2020 Vision" they wonder just how they managed to get through that tumultuous year, and whether things are truly getting better. If the themes of They Live in My Head are not exactly new to the Bush Tetras, for good or ill the rest of the world has caught up to the crises of pre-gentrification New York City, and their attack and their message is as ferociously compelling as ever. The Bush Tetras have always worked best when they had a rhythm section who could deliver the mix of rubbery funk and punk-inspired stomp that matches the report of Place's guitar, and on They Live in My Head, bassist R.B. Korbet and drummer Shelley hit that sweet spot throughout. Korbet adds a propulsive groove that pairs nicely with the group's jagged tone, while Shelley reminds us he's been delivering the expert timing of a great rock drummer and the instincts of what to do with musicians exploring the space for a few decades now, and he hasn't lost a bit of his touch. It's a shame Dee Pop wasn't around to help record They Live in My Head (he was part of the online songwriting sessions prior to his passing), but if he wanted his bandmates to continue on without him, they've done so with style and fury -- this is as strong as anything they've recorded in their 40-plus-year history. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	07/28/2023
Label:	WHARF CAT RECORDS
UPC:	0843563161814

Tracks

1. Bird on a Wire
2. Tout Est Meilleur
3. Things I Put Together
4. 2020 Vision
5. I Am Not a Member
6. Walking out the Door
7. So Strange
8. Ghosts of People
9. They Live in My Head
10. Another Room
11. The End

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bush Tetras   Primary Artist
Pat Place   Guitar
Steve Shelley   Drums
David Nagler   Melodica,Piano
Cynthia Sley   Percussion,Vocals
R.B. Korbet   Vocals (Background),Bass

Technical Credits

Steve Shelley   Producer,Composer
Geoff Sanoff   Mixing,Engineer
Pat Place   Composer
Lucy Cahill   Cover Design
Cynthia Sley   Composer
R.B. Korbet   Composer
Carl Saff   Mastering