They Live in My Head is NYC no wave/post-punk greats Bush Tetras’ third proper studio album, first album in 11 years, and first since the death of original drummer Dee Pop. While no one can replace him, Sonic Youth‘s Steve Shelley is hard to argue with as an addition, and he also produced the album. “We thought a lot about memories from 1979 in New York City,” says singer Cynthia Sley of the album. “It’s a reflection of growing up together, what we were eating, what we were doing, weird little things people probably won’t get. But that’s cool.” It’s a terrific album that updates their sound and attitude to 2023 and you can give the whole thing a listen below.
We asked singer Cynthia Sley and guitarist Pat Place to tell us more about the album and they each gave us a few specific inspirations. Pat’s are more musically oriented, and Cynthia’s are lyrical. Read it below.
BUSH TETRAS – INSPIRATIONS BEHIND ‘THEY LIVE IN MY HEAD’:
Pat Place:
I feel like the BT’s were always influenced by the local (and now global) zeitgeist, filtered through our own particular lens and regurgitated through our music. When I go to rehearsal I will sometimes have a riff but often I have no preconceived ideas and just see what comes, absorbing what’s going on in the world and my head and spitting it back on guitar (hopefully).
I am always influenced by my bandmates — the lyrics, a drumbeat, a baseline – – we work off each other. I never try to sound like other players or bands, cause it never works!
On that note I will try to source a few things that may have influenced me while writing and recording this album:
1. Steve Shelley produced and played drums on this album. As a producer he encouraged me to be spontaneous when needed and just do what I do. Writing with him was the same, which I really appreciate. It gave me the go ahead to be me. He and the awesome engineer Geoff Sanoff created an easy comfortable creative environment to record and mix this album in two weeks.
2. Cynthia and I started writing some of this during the Covid lockdown — I’m sure that influenced our thoughts and output during that time. Some of the lyrics address it
3. I was listening to one of my favorite guitar players, Steve Cropper, playing with Wilson Pickett. In one song I tried to imitate him, but it is unrecognizable I’m sure!
4. I always go back to Gang of Four – Their music holds up and always inspires me. Andy Gill is another one of my favorite guitarists
5. I was listening to a Jeff Beck / Bones UK collaboration album called Loud Hailer. Jeff Beck and Carmen Vandenberg are both amazing guitarists and the heavy funk bottom of the rhythm section along with Rosie Bones vocals made for some awesome music.
6. I watched the Peter Jackson doc “Get Back” during that time. I found it fascinating to watch The Beatles writing process while making and performing their last album and (rooftop) performance “Let it Be.”
Cynthia Sley:
“Bird on a Wire” lyrics were written while I was staying with my mom in Vermont during 2020. We had a mutual love for songbirds. The birds were ever-present on my sunset walks and I imagined what it would be like being perched on a wire. Mom passed away in 2022 so that time with her turned out to be so important.
“Tout Est Meilleur Avec Du Beurre” was inspired by a sentence from French Duolingo, which was keeping my brain going during Covid. It means “everything is better with butter.” I turned it into a song about trying to reconcile how we couldn’t go out like normal and be with our friends but it was all okay ultimately, because everything is better with butter!
“They Live in My Head” is inspired by the adage “they live in my head rent-free,” meaning one can give other people way too much power over them. I tried to keep my sense of humor about the whole ebb and flow of it because one can never get completely over that one!
Bush Tetras will celebrate the release of The Live in My Head at NYC’s Le Poisson Rouge on September 15. There are other tour dates this fall and all are listed below:
Bush Tetras – 2023 Tour Dates
15.09.23 – NY, NY @ LPR
29.09.23 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brendas
01.10.23 – Kingston, NY @ Tubbys
31.10.23 – Limerick, Ireland @ Dolans
01.11.23 – Dublin, Ireland @ Whelans
03.11.23 – London, United Kingdom @ New Cross Inn
18.11.23 – Benidorm, Spain @ Primavera Weekender
