Tea Eater – Obsession
No one’s more fun in the post (or present) apocalypse than Tea Eater. Ferociously 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 suckerpunch tracks about hating the DMV. But their debut LP Obsession, produced and mixed by Drew Vandenberg (Bambara, Faye Webster, Of Montreal) brings a 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 pulled from the jaws of lockdown in Lake Placid. After an excruciating cross-country drive with members of Gustaf in March 2020, Thiessen submerged herself in meditation, Twin Peaks: The Return and the expected existential crisis. Gradually, old movie rewatches turned into resonant hooks (see “Is this as good as it gets?” on “Jack Nicholson”). Watching the collective dissatisfaction with Brooklyn among music scene friends became sassy, spiraling tracks like “Has Been.” Through this (and a few helpful suggestions on Twitch) the first songs were written, to be christened under Tea Eater—the literal English-to-German translation of Thiessen’s last name.
Finally, during the summer of 2021 Tea Eater’s debut LP was recorded at Chase Park Transduction Studios in Athens, GA with Vram Kherlopian on bass and Alex Tuisku on drums. Upon returning to New York, Thiessen’s vocals were produced by Vanessa Silberman at A Diamond Heart Production. The result? A soundscape with deliciously crunchy riffs, sci-fi-tinged guitar solos, ethereal harmonies and cheeky lyrics that off-set any real ennui.
Obsession vinyl is set to be released in-stores on August 8th, 2025 via A Diamond Heart Productions (Symphonic Distribution) in collaboration with La Fam Recordings. Listen deeply and you’ll hear that COVID-era atmosphere of anxiety, gnawing self-reflection and preoccupation on the mundane. But think less (the preferred method) and Obsession better captures the joys of release from captivity. The celebration of creativity. The reclamation of self. The freedom of expression. The return to irreverence in a new it’s-the-end-ofthe-world-again society.
Oh, and hating the DMV, which is timeless.
8/8 The Middle East, Cambridge, MA w/ ISTA
8/9 Daisy Cutter, Providence, RI
8/13 Nikki Lopez, Philly, PA w/ Jim E Brown & Jasno Swarez
8/14 Sleepwalk, Brooklyn, NY w/ Jasno Swarez
9/18 Parkside, Brooklyn, NY w/ Consumables
New Colossus Fest March 2026 (TBD)
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