Life is a Rorschach, life is a Rashomon. Fuck your facts. Throw ‰Û÷em out with yesterday‰۪s webpages. Lives lie beyond the equations of currency, border lines and government‰Ûä‰ÛÓ‰Ûäand truth is just a drop in the beholder‰۪s eye.
Ty Segall has made whole records that wrestle with realities‰Ûä‰ÛÓ‰Ûäfighting against some, pulling mightily to bring others into being. Of late, he‰۪s thrown up his hands and donned clown shoes, dancing merrily in the dual role of oppressed/oppressor! His hands aren‰۪t any more or less dirty than anyone else‰۪s‰Ûä‰ÛÓ‰Ûäbut amidst the thunder and the chaos of the ongoing storm, he‰۪s looking for the eye within.åÊ
The new self-titled record‰Ûä‰ÛÓ‰Ûäthe next record after Emotional Mugger, Manipulator, Sleeper, Twins, Goodbye Bread, Melted, Lemons, and the first self-titled album that started it up in the now-distant year of 2008‰Ûä‰ÛÓ‰Ûäis a clean flow, a wash of transparency falling into a world that needs to see a few things through clearly, to their logical end. It‰۪s got some of the most lobe-blasting neckwork since the Ty Segall Band‰۪s Slaughterhouse (from way back in the long, hot summer of 2012), but it also features a steep flight of fluent acoustic settings, as Ty‰۪s new songs range around in their search for freedom without exorcism, flying the dark colors high up the pole in an act of simple self-reclamation. All he wants is some truth!åÊ åÊ
The construction and destruction of his chosen realities has, until now, been a luxury Ty has rightfully reserved for himself, striping overdubs together to form the sound‰Ûä‰ÛÓ‰Ûäbut for this new album, he entered a studio backed by a full band‰Ûä‰ÛÓ‰ÛäEmmett Kelly, Mikal Cronin, Charles Moothart and Ben Boye‰Ûä‰ÛÓ‰Ûäto get a read on this so-called clarity. This leads to a new departure in group sound, as well as some of the most visceral and penetrating vocal passages yet heard from Ty Segall.
‰ÛÏFreedom/Warm Hands‰ puts the ‰ÛÏsweet‰ back into suite; ‰ÛÏOrange Color Queen‰ is a supreme moment of tenderness; ‰ÛÏTalkin‰۪,‰ a roots-infused truth-attack. ‰ÛÏPapers,‰ looks behind the doors of Ty‰۪s process; ‰ÛÏBreak A Guitar‰ is a brutal fun-fest pitched to the back of the house. Ty Segall keeps you guessing, bracing your skin with a welcome astringency, seeking to stem the bleeding with chunks and splashes of guitar, tight beats, audio-verit̩ toilet smashes, a Wurlitzer electric piano in a jam, blazing harmonies, and LOTS of songs to sing. There‰۪s no concept beyond that; finding the right places to be is a momentary thing. Ty Segall is the sum of his songs‰Ûä‰ÛÓ‰Ûäand about getting the free. The free to be!