They Live in My Head, by Bush Tetras

They Live in My Head

by Bush Tetras

supported by

Professor Fuzz Heavy, pissed off, post-punk for the plague generation.

orphanedpennies visceral in every way!

broadcast - energy - transmitter thumbnail

more...

	/

Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Signed by Steve Shelley, Pat Place and Cynthia Sley!

Includes unlimited streaming of They Live in My Head via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 3 days

3 remaining

Purchasable with gift card

$30 USD or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Includes Bonus Guilt 7". 1-200 are hand-numbered. Lyric insert and DL card.

Includes unlimited streaming of They Live in My Head via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 5 days

Purchasable with gift card

$35 USD or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
For the ultimate Tetras fan!

Includes unlimited streaming of They Live in My Head via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 5 days

2 remaining

Purchasable with gift card

$40 USD or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Your Pre-Order Will Come w/ a Signed Tetras Box Set.

Includes unlimited streaming of They Live in My Head via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 5 days

9 remaining

Purchasable with gift card

$120 USD or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Lyric Insert & DL Card. 1-200 are Hand-Numbered.

Includes unlimited streaming of They Live in My Head via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 5 days

Purchasable with gift card

$25 USD or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Recyclable All-Cardboard Sleeve

Includes unlimited streaming of They Live in My Head via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 5 days

Purchasable with gift card

$13 USD or more
Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$7 USD or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Your CD Pre-Order Will Come w/ a Signed CD Box Set. Includes 40 Page Book.

Includes unlimited streaming of They Live in My Head via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 5 days

5 remaining

Purchasable with gift card

$40 USD or more

1.	Bird on a Wire 04:18	buy track
2.	Tout Est Meilleur 02:48	buy track
3.	Things I Put Together 03:38	buy track
4.	2020 Vision 03:34	buy track
5.	I Am Not a Member 02:01	buy track
6.	Walking Out the Door 05:41	buy track
7.	So Strange 04:07	buy track
8.	Ghosts of People 04:55	buy track
9.	They Live in My Head 03:16	buy track
10.	Another Room 03:58	buy track
11.	The End 03:52	buy track

about

DELUXE EDITION IS ON RED VINYL AND COMES WITH A BONUS GUILT 7” AND IS LIMITED TO 50 COPIES. DELUXE EDITION IS GUARANTEED A HAND NUMBER 1-50.

SPECIAL EDITION LP IS ON GREEN VINYL AND COMES WITH A BONUS GUILT 7”.

LIMITED EDITION IS ON GREEN VINYL.

FIRST 200 RECORDS ARE HAND NUMBERED. FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED.

About They Live in My Head

The Bush Tetras have made punk music at the fringes for over four decades. Flashes of reggae, bursts of noise, guitars that rattle, shake and snake, born out of a gutter behind CBGBs. The band’s first iteration lasted just a few years, from 1979 through the early ‘80s. But they respawned time and time again, contorting their sound, tweaking the vision, remaining completely singular and indispensable along the way.

In the late 2010s the group—Pat Place, Cynthia Sley, and Dee Pop—reformed again, releasing an EP, Take the Fall, in 2018. It was their first offering of new music in over a decade. A few years later in, 2021, they released a career spanning box set called Rhythm and Paranoia. The New York Times called the box set an artifact that “proves for decades [that the Bush Tetras] continued to evolve in surprising yet intuitive directions.” And in Pitchfork’s Best New Reissue, Rhythm and Paranoia revealed “just how vital [the Bush Tetras] remained each decade.” Around the same time of the release, the band began working on a full length record, starting writing sessions during the pandemic over Zoom. Right before the release of the box set, beloved drummer Dee Pop passed away. Determined to complete the record to honor his memory, the Tetras went into the studio to finish what they’d started, once the timing was right. They brought in a new drummer, Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley, who also served as producer. Enter They Live in My Head.

They Live in My Head is the band’s third full length record since their formation in 1979, but that fact is a little misleading. The Bush Tetras have written songs together for decades. They’ve thought about their output, they’ve played heart stopping live shows. They Live in My Head is a natural evolution to the band’s sound. When Shelley joined the band, the Bush Tetras went into the rehearsal space, entering into kinesthetic writing sessions. “We just went into the rehearsal space and things just would fall right into place,” says Place, “We’d just start playing and the next thing would happen and we’d know where to take it.” This intuitive approach to songwriting lends itself to music that feels urgent, natural, the kind of stuff you can really grind your teeth and dance to. Opener “Bird on a Wire,” is trancelike. Place’s guitars shoot off sparks of lightning, bassist RB Korbet keeps things dubby. Sley sings about tiny satellites spinning round, clocks on the wall, the feeling of looking at the world from down below. It’s dedicated to her mother, who passed away in 2022.

The record is a collection of songs that often reflect on the past, of thinking back to old memories, and honoring those who are no longer with us. “We thought a lot about memories from 1979 in New York City.” says Sley, “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.” Look no further than “Ghosts of People,” to see that in practice. The song is searching: Shelley’s drums keep pace, Place’s guitar meanders through closed doors and portals. “Ramen and slices/snickers and coke/burn your crosses in the snow,” sings Sley.

There’s ample moments where the Bush Tetras reflect on the immediate challenges of the 2020s: the pandemic, the need to protest, the need to stand up against what is right in the face of evil. The Bush Tetras have always been a political band, a band that calls out all kinds of bullshit, and They Live in My Head, is absolutely no exception. “Tout est Meilleur,” is about the radical possibilities of appreciating the little things during the crisis of the pandemic. It’s smooth as butter, groovy as all hell, where guitars and bass eat up post punk goodness while Sley sings in French. “2020 vision,” is a scorcher. “I don’t want no man-splaining,” says Sley in one memorable moment. And in another: “Looking back at 2020/all I know it’s been a journey.” The song leaves you breathless, angry, it is a call to arms to get on the streets and get something done. No need to sit around idly watching the world turn.

The Bush Tetras are always like this: a band that demands your attention, that isn’t definable by any sort of genre descriptors or cheap shots. Four decades on they’re as essential as ever, ready to make you think, make you dance, hit up a mosh pit and throw elbows in your combat boots, but only if you won’t be a jerk—or a creep.

credits

released July 28, 2023

license

about

Bush Tetras New York, New York

New York City legends the Bush Tetras have been making paranoid, groove-centered post-punk since 1979, when Pat Place left James Chance and The Contortions to found the group with singer Cynthia Sley, bassist Laura Kennedy and drummer Dee Pop. They played to 5000 in Mexico City at the NRMAL festival and toured around the US and EU. They released a box set in 2021 and album of new songs in 2023. ... more

shows

Jul 6

Mosswood Park

Oakland, CA

contact / help

Contact Bush Tetras

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Bush Tetras, you may also like:

ALPHABETLAND
by X

supported by 54 fans who also own “They Live in My Head”

33 years after their first album they still sound like they have something to say. Lute FP
go to album
Live in Brooklyn 2011
by Sonic Youth

supported by 38 fans who also own “They Live in My Head”

worth it ($15) and I like it mucho Alphonso Acosta
go to album
Coriky
by Coriky

supported by 38 fans who also own “They Live in My Head”

A fantastic album. I can see why they didn't continue under the name The Evens, as it's a different sound with the bass added. Coriky is the Evens + Joe Lally from Fugazi on bass. If you can imagine The Evens with a slightly more funky, aggressive sound like Fugazi... that's what you get! And there's no way that can ever go wrong. What a great debut album!! smiledozer
go to album
It Doesn't Matter If It's Cool
by Basic Bitches

Punchy garage rock that reaches back to '90s riot grrrl and queercore for its grit, snarl, and righteous riffs. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 18, 2023
go to album
Out of Body
by Geo

A no wave oddity out of the Netherlands, Geo make warped and dissonant dance party punk rock. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 9, 2024
go to album
Ornamental Hermit
by Beige Banquet

Across their second full-length, the London post-punks offer up thrumming motoriks, industrial tones, and sullen sing-a-longs in abundance. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 17, 2024
go to album
Versions of Modern Performance
by Horsegirl

supported by 36 fans who also own “They Live in My Head”

Dirtbag Transformation: "What is this?" was my first reaction. But what an amazing song. It reminds me a bit of the Pixies in how it pulls together dissonance and then resolves. malfunction54
go to album

Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Fabiana Palladino stops by to talk about her mesmeric debut LP.

listen now