The Olivia Tremor Control is the legendary neo-psychedelic garage rock band from Athens, GA and one of the original bands to come out of The Elephant Six Recording Company, along with bands like Neutral Milk Hotel, Apples In Stereo, Of Montreal, and Elf Power. The band was powered by the lo fi geniuses Will Cullen Hart and Bill Doss. Hart and Doss were the main songwriters and with the two of them Olivia Tremor Control released two LPs in the late nineties, 1996s Dusk at Cubist Castle and 1999s Black Foliage, as well as EPs and non-album tracks.
The band recorded on tape exclusively, layering tracks upon tracks and creating this vintage, sepia-toned sound that was reminiscent of classic Nuggets-era psych as well as the infectious psych-pop of mid-60s Beatles.
The band broke up but then got back together to play All Tomorrow’s Parties in 2005, which led to Hart and Doss reuniting and begin writing and recording the band’s third album. Unfortunately Doss passed away in 2012 of an aneurysm while still in the midst of the writing/recording process. Then in 2024 Will Cullen Hart passed away as well, recently releasing two new OTC tracks.
As the bulk of the record was recorded before Doss passed away, we now have The Same Place. An album nearly 2 decades in the making. As well as being a fitting ending to the great Olivia Tremor Control, The Same Place is also a psych pop masterpiece.
\If you’re not familiar with The Olivia Tremor Control I implore you to do so. If I were you I’d start with Dusk at Cubist Castle. Then move on to Black Foliage. Once you’re good and primed(and maybe even a little lightheaded), then jump into The Same Place. By no means will you mess things up by starting with the newest record, but for the full effect getting acquainted with their 30 year old records is a plus.
You just don’t hear records like this anymore. The gleeful harmonies, psychedelic swirls and pop hooks with just a touch of wooziness added for good measure just isn’t being made nowadays. “Begin Now!” gasps from the speakers in fuzz guitar tones and stacked Beatles-esque vocal harmonies. “Timewaster” has stacked horns and jangly guitar that has the vibe of mid-90s Sloan and Aftermath-era Stones all rolled into one hell of a ear hook.
This album is a bit like bringing musical ghosts from the past to life. These tracks have been sitting on multi-track tapes since as early as 2006. Even though Doss and Hart are gone, they remain firmly intact on reel-to-reel just waiting to be set free. From the wobbly “A Useful Planet, Partially Yellow” to the groovy “Meeting Ourselves” to the proggy seven part “Path Of The Parallels”, the Olivia Tremor Control live once again and prove why they are the legends that they are.
We get a proper goodbye from one of the finest hidden gems in psych-pop rock over the last 30 years. The Same Place feels like returning to some place in a long forgotten dream that only exists when you open your mind and let the magic take over.
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