After working with Thee Oh Sees and a variety of other bands, vocalist and songwriter Brigid Dawson struck out solo with a witchy, slow-burning style modeled on '60s acid rock and psychedelia. Dawson worked with a cast of indie all-stars on Ballet of Apes, her 2020 solo debut released under the moniker Brigid Dawson and the Mothers Network.

Dawson was born in the United Kingdom and sang for London-based indie band Permanent Slow Fade in the late '90s and early aughts. She left London for California in 2001 and before long was collaborating with John Dwyer of Thee Oh Sees, playing keyboard and percussion as well as adding vocal harmonies to live shows and recordings. She also sometimes worked with Dodos member Meric Long on a project called Mix Tapes. After working closely with Dwyer on the 2017 OCS album Memory of a Cut Off Head, Dawson took her songs into various recording sessions that would yield the material for her debut solo album. Working with Total Control's Mikey Young in Australia, with members of Sunwatchers in Brooklyn and with various Bay Area players in San Francisco, Dawson gathered together seven songs of wispy psych-folk and hushed acid rock. The album, Ballet of Apes, was released on Castle Face Records in May of 2020. ~ Fred Thomas, Rovi