Ty Segall Continues His White Hot Streak

Ty Segall has more gears than a 18th century timepiece. It only takes 37 minutes for him to masterfully call upon every type of rock music imaginable. The miracle isn’t that he manages to pack so much into such a short time, but that his music still manages to make sense. Perhaps that’s the benefit of entering the studio backed by a full band, which helps make his latest, self-titled album the first of its kind in nearly a decade-long catalog.

It is best to imagine Ty Segall as a sonic tapestry rather than an earthbound album with a 10 song track list. These philosophical arrangements are assembled like a jigsaw puzzle, their individual corners often touching upon some idea that will arise full-bodied later on. “Warm Hands (Freedom Returned)” is the throbbing heart, flowing from firestorms of distortion to psychedelic whimsy without ever losing hold of the taut energy that ties it together. “Orange Color Queen,” a meaty acoustic number, feels remarkably in place even while following up “Thank You Mr. K,” which is infused with hallmarks of hardcore. The album also possesses a minor population of characters, many of whom are referenced on “Talkin’,” a breezy song about loose-lipped folk who don’t realize that by talking about others you only end up referencing yourself.

The final track, “Untitled,” is 13 seconds long. A quick count-off by the drummer, some power chords, then cut… distant laughter ushers in static, then silence. It carries the hint of a joke. It seems to suggest that all of Segall’s heady probing and truth-seeking can only give the illusion of revelation, never the real thing. That task falls to the individual. Don’t expect him to take you by the hand and guide you to an answer, because that assumes he’s figured it out himself. Just be happy with this short, meteoric record that will undoubtedly leave a smoldering trail through the thick of your limbic system.