''The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In'' is the seventh studio album by
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
-based rock band
Thee Oh Sees
Osees are an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1997, now based in Los Angeles, California. The band currently consists of primary songwriter and core member John Dwyer (vocals, guitar), Tim Hellman (bass), Dan Rincon (d ...
. The album was the first to be released under the name "Thee Oh Sees", after the band had previously been known as "OCS", "The Ohsees", and "The Oh Sees". It is their seventh studio album overall.
Background
Their previous album, ''Sucks Blood'', already used the name "Thee Oh Sees" on the interior of both CD and vinyl releases, while the exterior continued to use the name "The OhSees".
This album seems to get its title from ''The master's bedroom, it's worth spending a night there'', a 1920 painting by surrealist Max Ernst. Additionally, the phrase is a line in the Mekons song "Hostile Mascot," from their album ''Retreat From Memphis.''
This album marked the first appearance of Mike Shoun, the drummer that joined the band following the departure of previous drummer, Patrick Mullins. Shoun's arrival marked a change in the band's sound. John Dwyer noted that his style "brought it up to a more party thing".
The change in style can be observed in ''
Thee Hounds of Foggy Notion
''Thee Hounds of Foggy Notion'' is the title of the August 25, 2008 live CD/DVD release by San Francisco-based rock band Thee Oh Sees. Recorded during their '' Sucks Blood'' era in 2007, the performances include songs from previous albums, as well ...
'', which was recorded prior to the creation of ''The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In'' (both were released in 2008). The songs "Block of Ice" and "Ghost In The Trees" appear on both releases, but the latter performances on ''The Master's Bedroom...'' are faster and more rock-oriented. "Two Drummers Disappear" also features
Chris Woodhouse as second drummer.
Woodhouse was the mix engineer for the twelve of the songs on the album that were recorded in San Francisco. The remaining three tracks, "Graveyard Drug Party", "Maria Stacks", and "You Will See This Dog Before You Die", were recorded in New York City with mix engineers
Dave Sitek
David Andrew Sitek (born September 6, 1972) is an American musician and record producer, known for his work with his band TV on the Radio. He has also worked with bands such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars, Foals, Celebration, Little Dragon, Beady E ...
(of
TV on the Radio
TV on the Radio (TVOTR) is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2001. The band consists of Tunde Adebimpe (vocals, loops), David Andrew Sitek (guitars, keyboards, loops), Kyp Malone (vocals, guitars, bass, loops), and ...
) and Chris Moore. Jigmae Baer was the drummer for these three tracks, rather than Mike Shoun.
The songs were influenced by a variety of artists, including
Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. The group existed in two incarnations, both fronted by Adam Ant, over the period 1977 to 1982. The first, founded in May 1977 and known simply as The Ants until November of t ...
("Visit Colonel"),
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...
("Poison Finger"), and
Pink Floyd's "The Scarecrow" ("Graveyard Drug Party"). "Ghost In The Trees" was adapted from "Putrifiers" by Yikes, one of Dwyer's previous bands. He would later allude to this work again with 2012's album ''
Putrifiers II''. "Block Of Ice" was heavily influenced by
Red Krayola's song "Hurricane Fighter Plane" as well as
Malcolm Mooney's work with
Can.
"Block Of Ice" had also appeared on the album ''Deuteronomy'' by
The Intelligence
The Intelligence is an American rock band from Seattle, formed in 1999. Founded by multi-instrumentalist Lars Finberg ( A Frames, Thee Oh Sees), the band currently consists of Finberg, alongside Dave Hernandez (guitar), Drew Church (bass) and ...
in 2007. The two bands had toured together, and The Intelligence recorded their cover of the song before John Dwyer had recorded a studio version with his own band.
Lars Finberg, the leader of The Intelligence, would later go on to join Thee Oh Sees as second drummer and second guitarist in 2011.
Release
The vinyl pressings of the album have been made in different colors. The initial pressing by Tomlab in 2008 was on purple vinyl, and the second was on black vinyl. In 2010, In The Red Records issued two different pressings. One was a traditional black series, and the other was a limited pressing on clear blue vinyl.
In 2011,
Burger Records
Burger Records was an American independent record label and record store in Fullerton, California, United States. The label was founded in 2007 by Sean Bohrman and Lee Rickard, members of the power pop band Thee Makeout Party. The record/video s ...
released a series of
cassette tapes by Thee Oh Sees that contained two full-length albums on each cassette. ''The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In'' was paired with the following album ''Help'' for this series.
Artwork
The cover art was created by William Keihn, who has contributed the cover art to other Thee Oh Sees' albums. Keihn also created the art for Ty Segall's album ''Melted'', which features a similar character in a mask.
The album art was originally a gift given to John Dwyer, who in turn requested it to be used for ''The Master's Bedroom...''.
The artwork, (along with the artwork from the following album ''
Help
Help is a word meaning to give aid or signal distress.
Help may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films
* ''Help'' (2010 film), a Bollywood horror film
* ''Help'' (2021 theatrical film), a British psychological thriller film
* '' ...
'') was later included in the cover for ''Singles Vol. 1 and 2'', in the form of marker drawings on two different fans' chests.
Track listing
Personnel
Thee Oh Sees
*
John Dwyer - vocals, guitar
*
Brigid Dawson
Brigid Dawson sang and played keyboard and tambourine for Thee Oh Sees. She is noted for her "whimsical" harmonies and is credited with helping front man John Dwyer write melodies. Reviewing a show they played in New York, Impose Magazine wrote, " ...
- vocals
*
Petey Dammit
Petey Dammit, often stylized as Petey Dammit!, is an American guitarist and bass guitarist. He is best known as a former member of the garage rock band Thee Oh Sees, with whom he recorded six studio albums. From 2014 to 2015 he performed with the ...
- bass
* Mike Shoun - drums (Tracks 1-5, 7-10, 12, 14, and 15)
Guest Musicians
* Jigmae Baer - drums (Tracks 6, 11, and 13)
*
Dave Sitek
David Andrew Sitek (born September 6, 1972) is an American musician and record producer, known for his work with his band TV on the Radio. He has also worked with bands such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars, Foals, Celebration, Little Dragon, Beady E ...
- mellotron (Track 6) and organ (Track 13)
*
Chris Woodhouse - percussion, drums (Track 5)
Credits
* William Keihn - cover art
* Jan Lankisch - Layout
* Archie McKay - Photography
* Chris Moore - recording engineer (Tracks 6, 11, and 13)
*
Dave Sitek
David Andrew Sitek (born September 6, 1972) is an American musician and record producer, known for his work with his band TV on the Radio. He has also worked with bands such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars, Foals, Celebration, Little Dragon, Beady E ...
- recording engineer (Tracks 6, 11, and 13)
*
Chris Woodhouse - recording engineer (Tracks 1-5, 7-10, 12, and 14-15) and mix engineer
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In
2008 albums
Oh Sees albums