photos by Ericka Poore
Nashville powerviolence duo THETAN announces a new EP, Dim Times, confirming the record for release in May and issuing its cover art, track listing, and more. Invisible Oranges is hosting the premiere of the title track.
Since 2011, THETAN has produced an arsenal of LPs, EPs, splits, and collaborations, over the past several years releasing their Space Goretex collaboration with Bronx rapper Kool Keith (with guests from Gwar, Three 6 Mafia, Dwarves, Lost Dog Street Band, and more), the “Based Serenade” single with Lil B, and more. Earlier this month, they announced their new collaboration, having provided the backing music for a new Record Store Day etched 12” single with the legendary NYC hip-hop outfit Ultramagnetic MC’s.
THETAN is currently putting the final touches on their new LP for release later this year, but over the past few weeks they completed a succinct new EP, Dim Times. Collecting several new and previously unreleased tracks, re-recorded songs, cover tracks, and more, the EP drops six tracks in under ten minutes. Additionally, an expansive CD version of the record is being pressed, with over forty bonus tracks including nearly all of the band’s vinyl-only split and compilation tracks, demos, and more, all remixed and remastered for this release. Bassist/vocalist Dan Emery handled all engineering, mixing, and mastering duties at his Anti-Corporate Music/Black Matter Mastering headquarters in Nashville, and the Dim Times cover art was handled by Ericka Poore.
Emery writes, “This EP is a mixed bag of stuff we’ve either wanted to cover and record, previously recorded but felt we needed to re-record, or recorded but didn’t have a home for. ‘Dim Times’ was written for an album but didn’t make the final tracklist. The cover songs are by the Dwarves and the Wipers. We started playing ‘Fuck You Up And Get High’ a few years ago. It’s sort of an ode to our past, to more carefree times, but it’s safe to say our years of partying and wilding out are pretty well behind us. ‘D7’ is a song that I’ve wanted to cover since I was a teenager, but just never really pushed for it in any previous bands. Over the past couple years my son has started really getting into music and now he loves that song, so we decided to record it as a surprise for him. ‘Penance’ and ‘Collateral Damage’ are songs from our first album Laughed At By The Gods that are still frequently on our setlists. We felt they could have been recorded better, so this is a mulligan of sorts for those songs. ‘Departure’ is a typical THETAN interlude where we break out instruments that we don’t normally get to play in recordings. This particular one is me playing banjo and walking out of the room with a bunch of synths playing through it.
“We decided to release this as a CD because we have nothing else available on CD except for the Kool Keith collaboration, and I’m sick of people coming to the merch table and asking if we have CDs. Fine, fucking yes we do! The CD itself has 40+ bonus tracks; all the split and compilation tracks, some well-recorded demo stuff, songs that didn’t make albums, our collab with Lil B, all that stuff is on there. I remixed everything that I could get multitrack sessions for, and everything has been remastered as well. A lot of the songs on there were victims of circumstance and could have sounded a lot better, so this is a mulligan for those too. THETAN is all about second chances.”
The opening/title track for the EP has been premiered through Invisible Oranges who writes, “Though their collaboration work tends to favor heavy, in-the-pocket rhythms and dissonant textures that gives their guest vocalists room to operate in, their standalone sound fills in all that space with sheer rabid insanity.”
Stream THETAN’s “Dim Times” now at Invisible Oranges RIGHT HERE.
Anti-Corporate Music will release Dim Times on May 19th. Find preorders at the label webshop HERE and Bandcamp HERE, and digital presaves HERE.
Dim Times Track Listing:
1. Dim Times
2. Departure
3. Collateral Damage
4. Fuck You Up And Get High (Dwarves cover)
5. Penance
6. D7 (Wipers cover)
Watch for additional leaks from Dim Times to post, with updates on THETAN’s new LP to immediately follow the EP’s release.
Following their East Coast tour with labelmates Armagideon Time, THETAN continues to play frequently throughout their home region, with more extensive tour plans in the works.
THETAN Live:
4/02/2023 The End – Nashville, TN w/ Bled To Submission, God Is War, Knoll
4/22/2023 Medusa’s Hairdresser – Nashville, TN w/ Courtney, Cursed Circuits
5/31/2023 The Cobra – Nashville, TN w/ Goatwhore, Torsion
7/01/2023 Bucket City Punk Fest 3 @ TBA – Murfreesboro, TN
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