Ty Segall

Ty Segall

Written by: BV on 21/02/2017 10:23:03

Artists banging out multiple albums a year for a significant amount of years are really nothing new in rock music. Way back in the 1960’s both The Rolling Stones and The Beatles (to name the two most well-known) were known for churning out several pieces a year due to contractual obligations and a mass of songwriting-chops just bursting to evolve further. It is then no surprise that Ty Segall seemingly follows this ambitious approach, seeing as much of his musical persona owes a great deal to the 60’s garage-rock and psychedelic rock scenes as well the later glam, punk and hardcore scenes. With this year’s “Ty Segall”, his second self-titled effort, Segall offers up a glimpse into his musical world with an album which sounds more like a sampler of his work than anything else – a best of type of thing with the catch being that there are only new tracks on it.

Does that sound a tad ambitious? Yes, yes it does. It seemingly works though, as songs like album opener “Break a Guitar” roar loudly out your speakers like anything you’d expect from the “Twins” or “Manipulator” albums. This of course means the fuzz is plentiful, the hook is catchy as hell and Segall himself sounds manic while howling the lyrics out, occasionally sounding like he’s right up in your face. The presence is unnerving. “Freedom” and “Warm Hands (Freedom Returned)” collectively make up a considerable chunk of the album as a sort of two-in-one suite, ultimately exploring the different aspects of Segall’s sound within the confines of a single track. Definitely something new in Segall’s recording universe as the compositions rarely tend to flow over four minutes or so. With these two tracks collectively amassing a runtime of just about twelve minutes you can safely call them deviations from the formula.

Halfway through the album, Segall’s heavier and more frenetic side makes room for his more pristine, softer and ultimately more pop-oriented songs – recalling the likes of “Sleeper” and, occasionally, covering whole new ground. The front-runner single “Orange Color Queen” is the classic love song; something Segall rarely gets into. It seems like an honest one though, as Segall prefaced the release of the album by noting that; ”[He] rarely writes songs like this, because it is so easy to sound disingenuous, but [he] thinks this one is pretty good”. To be honest, it is good. So good in fact that it might be my personal favorite of Segall’s discography since the release of “Slaughterhouse” and its roaring epic “Wave Goodbye” back in 2012. By combining sentimental, earnest lyricism with a peculiar understanding of a folk-esque pop song, “Orange Color Queen” might be one of the most melodic tracks Segall has produced.

In short, “Ty Segall” is the prime sampler of anything Segall has done up until this point. From the faux-Bolan swagger over Barrett-esque acoustic shenanigans and the no-frills punk-inspirations. Where he goes from here is uncertain, but “Ty Segall” sounds like both the closing of one (or several) chapters, whilst also coming across as the opening of a new one.

8

Download: Orange Color Queen, Break A Guitar, Warm Hands (Freedom Returned)
For The Fans Of: White Fence, Thee Oh Sees, Fuzz
Listen: facebook.com

Release date 27.01.2017
Drag City


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