originally published: 08/13/2023
Single Cover Art by Emily Hughston
(NEW YORK, NY) -- Tea Eater, NYC art punk band fronted by Tarra Thiessen of Gustaf and Sharkmuffin, didn't expect to create an anthem that would unite the nation, but that's what they've accomplished with their latest single. Titled "Fuck the DMV," the song touches on a universally shared sentiment: The Department of Motor Vehicles is truly the worst.
Inspired by Thiessen's experience of the DMV wrongfully suspending her license during the COVID lockdown, "Fuck the DMV" captures the frustrating journey of discovering whether her license was actually suspended or not. The music video was directed, shot, and edited by Emily Hughston using a 360-degree camera, features Thiessen psychedelically glitching in and out of the DMV, taking her driver's test (with bandmates Vram Kherlopian and Lindsey Ann Lawless as DMV employees), and having her license photo taken in front of the iconic Florida DMV sign that reads, "If you want a better picture, bring a better face.”
This single marks the second release from Tea Eater's upcoming debut LP, Obsession, which was recorded in the summer of 2021 at Chase Park Transduction Studios in Athens, GA. The album was produced by Drew Vandenburg (Bambara/Faye Webster/Of Montreal) and features Thiessen on guitar and vocals, Vram Kherlopian on bass, and Alex Tuisku on drums. Thiessen's vocals were produced by Vanessa Silberman at A Diamond Heart Production in Brooklyn NY.
"Fuck the DMV" is OUT NOW via A Diamond Heart Productions/Amethyst Trax (Symphonic Distribution) and La Fam Recordings. Tea Eater will celebrate the release with a beach show on August 12 at Rippers in Rockaway, Queens, with Wild Yaks and Skorts. The full Obsession LP will be available on October 6, 2023.
No one’s more fun in the post (or present) apocalypse than Tea Eater. Fronted by Tarra Thiessen of Gustaf and Sharkmuffin, the New York City-based art punk band’s made significant waves with frenetic performances, surf-rock-on-Neptune grooves and sucker punch tracks about hating the DMV. Their debut LP Obsession, produced and mixed by Drew Vandenburg (Bambara/Faye Webster/Of Montreal) brings a new whirring power to their sound, an invitation to shed your baggage and transmute your neurosis into something worth dancing about.
The earliest Tea Eater tracks were written after a cross-country drive from LA with members of Gustaf in March 2020, when Thiessen submerged herself in meditation, Twin Peaks: The Return and the expected existential crisis. During the summer of 2021 Tea Eater’s debut LP was recorded in Athens, GA with Vram Kherlopian on bass and Alex Tuisku on drums. The result? A soundscape with deliciously crunchy riffs, sci-fi-tinged guitar solos, ethereal harmonies and cheeky lyrics that off-set any real ennui.
