A legend is a heavy thing to carry. It has been 27 years since the last album by The Olivia Tremor Control. In that time, they have influenced countless bands, been the subject of documentaries and biographies, and now, finally, improbably, there is a third Olivia Tremor Control album. In the 1990s,
The Olivia Tremor Control released two albums of experimental and psychedelic pop genius, “Music From The Unrealized Script: Dusk At Cubist Castle” (1996), and “Black Foliage: Animation Music Vol. 1” (1999). As founding members of the Elephant 6 collective, they redefined the U.S. underground scene, injecting bright paisley colors and sonic adventure into a scene weighed down by grim irony and a fear of pretension.
Work began on this album as far back as 2005 but progress was slowed by other projects, other responsibilities, but in 2010, the band began to record. By 2011, Olivia Tremor Control had reemerged as a fully active band. Then in 2012, Bill Doss suddenly passed away. In 2024, with the album nearly finished, Will Hart unexpectedly died. Drawing on his extensive collections of notes, “The Same Place” was finally completed by the surviving band members, the broader Elephant 6 community, and producers Derek Almstead, Jason NeSmith, and Ron Kwasman.
“The Same Place” does everything The Olivia Tremor Control ever did well. It also does it better, and goes further, than anyone could have imagined was possible
