More musicians maybe? I think Jim O'Rourke really reinvigorated the band.
They could add a key player, a brass section, and an effects manipulator/loop manipulator.
Adding a brass section worked for the Kinks in the way of allowing them to change their music significantly. Preservation Act 1 anyone? Great album, and I was almost afraid to listen to it because I knew it would be such a departure from the Kinks of the late 60s that I adored.
Of course SY's brass section would be more punk inspired- think "Oh Bondage, Up Yours!", "New York's Alright", and "Swingo."
I love the keys on Sympathy for the Strawberry, and a keyboardist could also play mellotron + synth.
A loop manipulator/effects dude could do all kinds of sweet oscillations plus loop vocals and pitch shift them and all sorts of neat stuff.
I think meanwhile, Thurston + Lee could redo their pedalboards. They could buy some fuzzes custom made for them by me & also get some electro-harmonix HOGs for weird pitch shifting and stuff. Lee can keep the ring modulator, but he has to use it more.
Musically, for inspiration I think they should look to the whole post-hardcore/post-rock/math rock scene of the late 90s and 00s (I'm talking Fugazi, Shipping News, Unwound, Slint), to the Brian Eno/David Bowie album Low for its textures, to the Brian Eno/Talking Heads album Stop Making Sense, and finally to current band Deerhoof.
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