A new era for Bush Tetras

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

Bush Tetras, the influential post-punk/no-wave band that got its start on the Lower East Side in the late 1970s, have announced a new full-length release, They Live in My Head, due out on July 28.

The band also released the first single, "Things I Put Together," last Thursday ... which Jon Pareles at the Times wrote, "reclaims Bush Tetras' muscle, dissonance and die-hard contrarianism."

Meanwhile, the band recently added bassist (and EV resident) Cait "Rocky" O'Riordan (top right). She joins founding members Cynthia Sley (top left) and Pat Place ... and Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley, who stepped in on drums in early 2022 after the death of Dee Pop in October 2021.

Earlier last week, EVG contributor Stacie Joy met the foursome at Rivington Music Rehearsal Studios as they were preparing for a sold-out show at Union Pool on May 3. 

Afterward, the group walked over to Mughlai Grill Indian Restaurant at 6 Clinton St., running into downtown writer-performance artist Penny Arcade on the way...

The latest iteration of the band has been playing together for several months now.

They plan to work on new material together over the summer ahead of a European tour later in the fall.

"It sounds like when we first started," Sley said, "We're having a lot of fun."

And for the newest member? "It's been exhilarating — the basslines are so much fun," O'Riordan said. "And Steve 'Fucking' Shelley is on drums! We're all levitating all the time, and it's a beautiful thing." 

Check out the new single here...