I’d ask you to dry your eyes, but your nasolacrimals have already been hindered thanks to the unconscious acceptance by your brain that this was never meant to last! Multiple releases per year for several years and a tour schedule that inspires reasonable complaints from Centralia residents about when they’ll earn a visit have culminated in the present hiatus for Thee Oh Sees, who, in true interludial fashion, reportedly have an album set for release this spring. Despite that, back in December, frontman John Dwyer confirmed the “well deserved break and transitional period” and proclaimed in front of a crowd at San Fran’s Great American Music Hall that the band’s performance was their last “for a long while. So dig in.” Thanks for the forewarning, John! And no, don’t tell me that I should’ve caught one of the half-dozen shows that you’ve already performed in my town! Ugh, I was busy. :(
In any case, while we temporarily endure Thee withdrawal, and while Dwyer and also-vocalist Brigid Dawson acclimate to an intra-state move away from their Bay Area, the former’s Castle Face label continues its operations. And one of those operations is releasing a full-length solo release from Dwyer under the name Damaged Bug, entitled Hubba Bubba. A press release mentions the use of a variety of “synthesizers, drum machines, and assorted hand-made electronics,” so in other words, the guitar on which he’s consistently wailed has been abandoned for the sake of “seeing other instruments,” so to speak. I’m not really missing it, in this case.
Have a listen; the album’s out February 25.
Hubba Bubba tracklisting:
01. Gloves for Garbage
02. Rope Burn
03. Eggs at Night
04. SS Cassidinea
05. Catastrophobia
06. Hubba Bubba
07. Sic Bay Surprise
08. Photograph
09. Hot Swells
10. 1/2 an Airplane
11. Metal Hand
12. Wasteland
• Castle Face: http://www.castlefacerecords.com
More about: Damaged Bug, Thee Oh Sees
