We're nearing the release of one last opus from Athens, Georgia's Olivia Tremor Control, the psych-pop cult favorites and a core fixture of the Elephant 6 collective. Bill Doss and Will Cullen Hart, the Lennon and McCartney of the OTC, are no longer with us. But before they died — Doss in 2012, Hart in 2024 — they began work on a double album called The Same Place. Their bandmates finished the 27-track project, and it's coming out next month, the band's first album in 27 years.
Early singles "The Same Place," "Garden Of Light," and "Advice From The Oceans" have indicated that during their long tail, this band was still capable of conjuring the charm, mystique, and pop craftsmanship that made them an underground sensation in the '90s. "Timewaster," the new single out today, maintains that standard. Buoyed by brass and woodwinds and carried along by a gnarly bass-powered groove, the track boasts an incredibly lush arrangement but rocks too hard to focus on its elegance and sophistication. Chalk up some of that power to guest drummer Jeff Mangum.
"We all fade into the neverending struggle," goes one memorable line on this one. "Beauty fades in perfect symmetry." Where this band is concerned, it was still burning brightly until the end. Hear "Timewaster" below.
The Same Place is out 10/23 on the Elephant 6 Recording Company. Pre-order it here.
