Must hear longplayers

26 November 2021

Band: BUSH TETRAS
Who: Post-punk-funk misfits from New York

Active: 1979–1983, 1995–1998, 2005–present
Work: They released a couple of EPs and singles between 79-83
and then went AWOL until the early 90s. After they return they
released a couple of full albums and compilations.

Info: “Flashes of light rarely burn for long. Bush Tetras exploded into New York in 1979 and flamed out just a few years later. Yet somehow this lightning-quick band have risen from their own ashes again and again for four decades. The spark that ignited Bush Tetras tapped into a deep grid of power, fueled by guitarist Pat Place, singer Cynthia Sley, and drummer Dee Pop.

That chemistry is palpable on ‘Rhythm and Paranoia: The Best of Bush Tetras,’ which features 29 songs across 3 LPs pressed onto 180-gram vinyl and remastered by Carl Saff, plus a 46-page book with never-before-seen photos, an original essay on the band by Marc Masters, and micro-essays by Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, R&B legend Nona Hendryx, The Clash’s Topper Headon, & more.

From the band’s earliest recordings to their current, vital-as-ever incarnation, Rhythm and Paranoia – for the first time ever – showcases their unique, influential, and body-shaking meld of rock, punk, funk, reggae, and more in one cohesive, immersive, and meticulously constructed box set.”

New album: RHYTHM AND PARANOIA: THE BEST OF BUSH TETRAS
Order info: here

Turn Up The Volume: I have no clue why major labels signed David Byrne‘s early hyperkinetic Talking Heads (Sire) and the late great Andy Gill‘s Gang Of Four (Warner Records) and financed their debut LPs and not Bush Tetras. They were as innovative,
brisk, and exciting as their similar-sounding post-punk-funk contemporaries. I know, majors are money-greedy sharks, but you – unfortunately – need them to get your music heard around the world. Anyway it’s pretty awesome to have – after more than 40 years – this new ‘best of‘ compilation. Do you like young wolves Bodega, Gustaf and the debut LP by Parquet Courts? Listen to Bush Tetras and you will find out that those bands are big Tetras fans .

.
BUSH TETRAS: Facebook
.
R.I.P. Dee Pop. The band’s drummer died recently in his sleep, only 65.

Bandmates Cynthia Sley and Pat Place: “Dee Pop was a quintessential New Yorker, growing up in Forest Hills Queens and living in New York ever since. He was not only Bush Tetras drummer, but also our archivist, owning an original copy of every Bush Tetras release and t-shirt and also maintaining the band’s masters. In addition to Bush Tetras, Dee Pop played with Richard Lloyd, Michael Karoli (Can), The Gun Club, Jayne County, and The Shams, William Parker, Eddie Gale, Roy Campbell, Freedomland, Hanuman Sextet, Radio I-Ching and 1000 Yard Stare. Dee Pop is survived by his son Charlie and daughter Nicole. He will be sorely missed by his bandmates and the many people he touched throughout his life. Rest in peace, Dee.”