Son Raw totally tripped out to Dusk at Cubist Castle.
I’m probably not the man who should be eulogizing Bill Doss considering my generally low view of contemporary rock music; but it’s worth noting that the Elephant 6 era of which Bill Doss was a major part of through his band Olivia Tremor Control was the last time my view of rock music was different. Simply put, OTC were everything I liked about guitar music: marijuana fueled mid-period Beatles, Barret era Floyd, Lsd-Fi experimentation that never overshadowed the music, a punk rock DIY attitude but also a friendly, hippie accessibility that never tried to be cool. They were indie back when that term meant home-spun craftsmanship by a bunch of friends instead of an American industry built around niche markets of poorly tattooed vegan humanities drop-outs. And his gift for melody was spot on: if Will Hart was the “Lennon” of the group, the one who dove deepest into the lysergic seas, Doss gleefully played “McCartney” thanks to his knack for melody and straight up songcraft that broke through the group’s signature tape-hiss and fuzz. Farewell traveler, and may your journey into the cosmos take you to the furthest reaches.
