Thomas Truax / The Retinal Circus / Kate Arnold

Merging a fevered imagination and solid songwriting with a mad scientist's brain for weird gadgets, American singer Thomas Truax is a true one-off.
He is known for his menagerie of unique self-made instruments including a motorized drum machine made of bike wheels, spoons and other found items called 'Mother Superior' and a souped up Gramophone called 'The Hornicator’

But don’t let the novelty fool you. He is also a talented guitar player, storyteller, and performer who crafts rich, poetically evocative songs about insects, trees, technology, love, the human condition, and a lifelong obsession with things lunar. His music evades easy pigeonholing as his songs flit between art rock, post-punk, and a distinctive brand of surreal Americana.
His ten studio LPs include highly-rated covers album 'Songs From The Films Of David Lynch'.

His upcoming 10th studio album features the legendary Budgie (Siouxsie & the Banshees, the Slits, The Creatures) drumming along with Mother Superior, adding extra thunder to a powerful new entry in Thomas’s catalog of recorded work. It’s a poignant, sometimes tender, often raucous collection that - much like Thomas’s music machines - has been crafted with great care and affection.

Though he usually performs solo, other notable past supporters and collaborators have included Jarvis Cocker, Duke Special, James Smith of Yard Act, Richard Hawley, Bob Log III, Brian Viglione (Dresden Dolls/Violent Femmes) and the late author Terry Pratchett.

"Truax is shaping up nicely as one of the great rock eccentrics.” -UNCUT

"Endlessly inventive and creative…A show not to be missed!” -Oxford Times

"His gigs are extraordinary, fizzing with showmanship." -Q