The Residents have always hovered at the periphery, crafting their own bizarre soundscapes from behind a veil of secrecy.

In an era that demands constant visibility, they remain an enigma, a warped funhouse mirror reflecting something far stranger than the pop-industrial machine.

Their latest creation, ‘Doctor Dark,’ draws us into a labyrinth of madness, existential dread, and the confrontation of life and death. The work eschews simple storytelling in favor of a meditative exploration of mortality, identity, and fate, conveyed with a blend of macabre humor and unsettling sincerity.

Hardy Fox’s death is a quiet reminder woven throughout the project. Even as The Residents contemplate finality, they defy conventional expectations. With no plans for a Doctor Dark tour, they remind us that some mysteries continue to linger in the echo of their work.

‘Doctor Dark’ will be released on 28 February 2025 via Cherry Red Records.

“Anonymity allows The Residents to pursue their vision and art in relative peace and seclusion”

‘Doctor Dark’ marks your first studio album in five years, and it dives into some dark, intense subject matter like euthanasia, drug abuse, and heavy metal obsession. What inspired these themes, and how do you see them resonating with today’s world, which seems to be grappling with its own existential and societal crises?

Homer Flynn: The Residents often feel their work is a twisted reflection or response to their culture, but these are almost always reactionary afterthoughts as opposed to motivated or preconceived concepts. Given the fact that Hardy Fox, the group’s longtime producer, died of assisted suicide, there is more immediate relevance with ‘Doctor Dark,’ at least in terms of the group’s internal culture.

The album’s description evokes a sense of inevitable, interconnected fates for the characters. Do these characters—Maggot, Mark, and Doctor Anastasia Dark—serve as representations of societal archetypes, or are they more of an exploration of the human psyche, perhaps your own projections onto these personas?

Again, The Residents work very intuitively and seldom pre-think their characters’ motivations, but they were certainly aware of the inevitability of their path as they began constructing ‘Doctor Dark.’ They saw their job as making the journey to the album’s foregone conclusion as entertaining as possible.

The concept of death has been a recurring theme in The Residents’ work, from ‘God in Three Persons’ to ‘Bunny Boy.’ However, ‘Doctor Dark’ seems to address this in an even more visceral way. Do you believe that, as a society, we’re becoming increasingly desensitized to the idea of death, or do you think this theme will always be an uncomfortable, almost taboo subject for most people to confront?

From the way cemeteries are often hidden away to the gloom saturating funeral homes, humans usually find death to be a difficult subject. The Residents claim to have little fear of death personally but are greatly fearful of the loss of those they care about. Hardy Fox’s death was hugely upsetting to the group.

The album features a collaboration with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and conductor Edwin Outwater, known for his work with Metallica. How did this collaboration come about, and how did working with a classical music institution influence the sound and structure of ‘Doctor Dark’?

While occupying a place in an oeuvre not known for risk-taking, Edwin is a great appreciator of The Residents’ willingness to take creative chances. When he accepted his job as Director of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, one of his biggest priorities was collaborating with the group. While The Residents have used samples of string and brass orchestrations as part of their arrangements for some time, the idea of working with someone as trained and knowledgeable as Edwin was definitely intriguing to the band. They were not disappointed.

How would you describe the sonic evolution of The Residents with ‘Doctor Dark’? It seems to blend not only genres but emotional states—from blissed-out electronica to heavy industrial soundscapes. How do you approach the intersection of these sounds with the thematic content?

Again, The Residents are more intuitive than preconceived in their creative approach. They initially saw a metal-ish sound for the hell-bent teenagers, as well as a more orchestral vibe for ‘Doctor Dark,’ as all but preordained. The last act of the piece, where Mark and Doctor Dark intersect, was much more difficult, but the soothing strains of ‘Take Me to the River’ offered a way of making the path to Mark’s inevitable suicide more acceptable, if not downright pleasant.

The press release notes that ‘Doctor Dark’ tackles “planes of existence beyond the immediate.” How does this notion fit into the broader Residents’ mythos? Is this an exploration of the human condition, or a metaphorical journey into otherworldly dimensions that mirror our struggles with identity and mortality?

The Residents, unknown and unseen for the entirety of their over fifty-year career, also occupy “planes of existence beyond the immediate.” How, why, and if the “band” fits into the human condition is a question The Residents want everyone—fans, appreciators, and skeptics alike—to answer for themselves.

One of the key tracks, ‘White Guys With Guns,’ feels like a pointed social commentary. Is this a direct critique of current political climates and their obsessions with power and violence? How do The Residents balance their often sardonic, surreal approach with pointed commentary on contemporary issues?

The Residents see little need to create a balanced approach to their material. It speaks for itself as far as THEY are concerned. The problem is not enough people are paying attention to what THEY believe to be obvious. There’s nothing new in this.

The Residents have always maintained anonymity and a sense of mystique, allowing their work to stand on its own. In an age of social media and hyper-connectivity, how do you maintain this approach while still engaging with your audience? Do you feel that anonymity is still a necessary part of your artistic expression, or is it simply part of the ongoing narrative of the band?

Anonymity allows The Residents to pursue their vision and art in relative peace and seclusion; consequently, it’s difficult to imagine that changing. The group’s fans seem to understand and accept that, so the need for more direct connection seems unnecessary. In today’s overly ME-saturated culture, there’s little the group is more thankful for than their initial and continuing desire for anonymity.

The concept of “death” seems to take on multiple forms in ‘Doctor Dark,’ from physical demise to the death of identity and the self. How does this relate to the personal experiences of The Residents themselves? Is there a symbolic “death” you’re exploring as artists, or is it more of a universal condition you are dissecting?

The Residents have been remarkably remote from the ravages of death throughout most of their lifetimes. Again, the passing of Hardy Fox had a profound effect on the group. Hardy had brain cancer and was given six weeks to live when he discovered he was dying. There was nothing “symbolic” about his passing, but while he disappeared from their lives, his influence is everlasting.

“The Residents see ‘Doctor Dark’ as a modern opera”

Throughout your career, you’ve often intertwined narrative elements with your music. Can you explain how the three-act structure of ‘Doctor Dark’ informs the album’s progression? Is this more of an artistic choice to reinforce the story’s themes, or is it a deliberate attempt to challenge listeners’ expectations of what an album should be?

The Residents see ‘Doctor Dark’ as a modern opera. The three-act structure you speak of quickly dictated its need or necessity shortly after THEY began formally constructing the album.

Tracks like ‘She Was Never Lovelier’ and ‘The Gift’ introduce moments of tenderness and reflection. How do these moments of beauty and melancholy coexist with the album’s otherwise dark, industrial tone? Is there an overarching philosophy behind the juxtaposition of these elements?

The Residents love creating dark characters, but they also feel the need to find empathy for personalities as ominous and foreboding as ‘Doctor Dark.’ One of the ways THEY’ve found to do this is by showing their listeners what those characters care about—by humanizing them. This was also their approach to ‘Mister X’ on ‘God in Three Persons.’

In the album’s storyline, characters such as Doctor Anastasia Dark face a slow-motion horror of intertwined fates. Do you think that the music of ‘Doctor Dark’ reflects the inevitability of these fates, or is it more about embracing the chaos of life as it unfolds?

While The Residents feel the necessity of reflecting the obvious inevitability of the paths their work creates, they also understand the equal necessity of embracing the chaos of life. Most of their work results from a confluence of these two paths.

The Residents’ work is known for being highly conceptual and experimental, often defying conventional music structures. How do you see the role of narrative in music today? Is it still something that can be explored through the album format, or do you think the medium of music itself is evolving in ways that make such elaborate storytelling more challenging?

The pop structure known as the “concept album” originated in the 1960s and saw its heyday some 30–40 years later. Needless to say, The Residents embraced and personified this form both in terms of their work and their so-called “persona.” In today’s attention-demanding and consequently stifled culture, the “concept album” seems to have all but disappeared. As far as I know, The Residents don’t listen to a lot of current popular music.

You’ve always explored themes of alienation and identity. In ‘Doctor Dark,’ are you addressing the search for identity through the lens of existential or metaphysical experiences, or is this album more about the breaking down of identities in the face of mortality?

I don’t see the concept of identity as playing a major role in The Residents’ creation of ‘Doctor Dark.’ While it’s true that Maggot questions his/her identity, a shotgun blast renders that a moot question, while the enigmatic ‘Doctor Dark’ seems quite content with his identity. That leaves Mark, who, while miserable through most of our exposure to him, finds peace in his inevitable plunge into a river of no remorse.

Any plans to tour in support of ‘Doctor Dark’? How do you envision performing this material live? With your unique multimedia approach, what elements of the live performance will you focus on to ensure the thematic darkness of the album is fully realized on stage?

At this point, there are no plans for The Residents to tour with ‘Doctor Dark.’ It’s their feeling that the material demands a higher level of production value than THEY or the Cryptic Corp can provide at this point. THEY see ‘Doctor Dark’ as a modern opera.

Illustration of Homer Flynn by Justin Jackley, originally featured in a February 2024 interview.

Finally, given the abstract, philosophical nature of your work, how do you hope ‘Doctor Dark’ will be received by your audience?

I don’t see ‘Doctor Dark’ as any more abstract or philosophical than most of The Residents’ other work, so it’s hard to see why their listeners won’t be eagerly accepting of it. The conversation I hope to see would center around the idea of how much The Residents, in their advancing years, still have left in the tank.

Klemen Breznikar

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