Ahead of the release of the new album Perfect Vision at the end of the month on August 27th, Thalia Zedek Band have shared two new tracks: “Tolls” featuring fellow Thrill Jockey artist Alison Chelsey (Helen Money), and “Queasy”. Where the pounding “Queasy” thunders and thrashes in the face of ignorance and intolerance, album closer “Tolls” takes on a more elegiac tone, lamenting the experience of watching friends trapped in destructive relationships. Chesley’s rich cello textures and stately piano figures add new color and depth to Zedek’s masterful arrangements, bolstering David Michael Curry’s elegantly restrained viola lines.

Zedek composed the bulk of Perfect Vision remotely from her band. Lockdowns allowed Zedek to take more time working on arrangements as well as to collaborate remotely with artists from across the country. Zedek recorded the core of the album with the veritable rhythm section of bassist Winston Braman and drummer Gavin McCarthy (also of Zedek’s E and Karate) who brought a propulsive punch to the album. As the trio recorded at Machines With Magnets with engineer Seth Manchester, friends old and new remotely recorded their parts fleshing out Zedek vision and arrangements. Zedek and Manchester completed work on the album on January 6th, 2021, as the U.S. Capitol was under insurrection. Perfect Vision is an album fully willing to see, acknowledge and address the insidious forces of the modern world. Zedek brings considerable skills as a musician and as a groundbreaking advocate for both women in music and LGBTQ+ rights to face emotional and political obstacles with unblinking, steadfast determination.

To coincide with the release of Perfect Vision, Thrill Jockey Records have re-issued Zedek’s critically acclaimed debut solo album Been Here and Gone, re-mastered by Sarah Register and released on vinyl for the first time to celebrate the record’s 20th anniversary.