Ty Segall – 7th Level Music

Ty Segall loves his dogs – as evidenced on his new single, “My Best Friend.”

Since 2008, Ty Segall has played out his hunger to be free through a dozen solo LPs, a variety of collaborative projects, and a rippling eclecticism of songs, sounds and production, all conversing from album to album in a mad diversity of voices. This search continues with Ty’s newest album, Three Bells, a fifteen song journey to the center of the self with Ty pushing the limits in his writing and performance, casting light on his inner psyche. Today, leading into the album’s January 26th release via Drag City, Ty welcomes the new year with “My Best Friend,” a new single and video and the final song to be released prior to the full unveiling of Three Bells. It follows the previously released Three Bells’ numbers: “Void,” “Eggman,” and “My Room.”

The quest for freedom looks different for everyone, but sometimes it looks like spending time with our non-human companions, an idea Ty explores on “My Best Friend.” Ty’s falsetto vocals and a driving, electric arrangement are the backbone of “My Best Friend,” with guitars cutting synchronous lines and a cowbell fortifying the chorus. In the solo section, the resonant rhythm/leads are fanned in a dizzying stereo effect. Filmed and directed by Ty, the song’s video finds his loyal companions, Fanny and Herman, as their tails wag with unbridled enthusiasm at the dawn of a new day. A sweet treat, friendly sniff and spirited encounters at the beach mirror the song’s rhythms.

Watch Ty Segall’s “My Best Friend” Video

Following select California shows in February, including two nights at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco and a record release show at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, Ty will tour throughout North America in the spring before heading to Europe in June. Tickets are now on sale.

Pre-order Ty Segallʼs Three Bells
Listen to/Watch “My Room”
Listen to/Watch “Void”
Listen to/Watch “Eggman”

Ty Segall Tour Dates:
(new dates in bold)
Tue. Feb. 20 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
Wed. Feb. 21 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
Fri. Feb. 23 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern*
Sat. Feb. 24 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up
Fri. Apr. 19 – Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole
Sat. Apr. 20 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar
Mon. Apr. 22 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk (Outside)
Tue. Apr. 23 – Jackson, MS @ Duling Hall
Wed. Apr. 24 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
Fri. Apr. 26 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
Sat. Apr. 27 – Washington DC @ Lincoln Theatre
Sun. Apr. 28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Mon. Apr. 29 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
Wed. May 1 – Boston, MA @ Royale
Thu. May 2 – Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
Fri. May 3 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
Sun. May 5 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
Mon. May 6 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
Tue. May 7 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
Thu. May 9 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre
Fri. May 10 – May 12 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Block Party
Sat. May 11 – Sacramento, CA @ HarlowʼsMon. June 17 – Prague, CZ @ Roxy
Tue. June 18 – Zürich, CH @ Mascotte
Thu. June 20 – Vitoria-Gasteiz, ES @ Azkena Rock Festival
Sat. June 22 – Paris, FR @ Elysée Montmartre
Mon. June 24 – Manchester, UK @ New Century
Tue. June 25 – Dublin, IRE @ Button Factory
Thu. June 27 – Glasgow, UK @ Queen Margaret Union (QMU)
Fri. June 28 – London, UK @ Roundhouse
Sun. June 30 – Bristol, UK @ Bristol Sounds 2024
Tue. July 2 – Lille, FR @ L’Aéronef
Wed. July 3 – Berlin, DE @ Festsaal Kreuzberg
Thu. July 4 – Vilanova i la Geltrú, ES @ Vida Festival 2024
Sun. July 7 – Beuningen, NL @ Down The Rabbit Hole

*w/ White Fence

Keep your mind open.

[You’d be my best friend if you subscribed.]

[Thanks to Jessica at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Ty Segall announces new album due January 26 – “Three Bells.”

Ty Segall returns with his most ambitious, elastic set of songs to date, Three Bells, to be released January 26th via Drag City. Following 2022’s acoustic introspection opus, “Hello, Hi,”Three Bells is a deeper, wilder journey to the center of the self, with Ty using his musical vocabulary with ever-increasing sophistication. In conjunction with today’s announcement, Tyunveils the new single/video, “My Room.”

Three Bells is an obsessive quest for expression. With much of the album being played by Ty in conversation with himself, a decision that further elevates the album’s conception, it answers back to the riptide always pulling Ty subconsciously into the depths. Questions we all ask in our own private mirrors are faced down here — and regardless of what the mysterious “Three Bells” mean in the context of the album’s libretto, you can be assured that Ty’s ringing them for himself, and for the rest of us in turn. With all fifteen songs brimming with perspectives, shape-shifting incessantly, Ty pushed them out farther and farther compositionally, challenging the way they’d be played. Each song moves through repetitive, thematic material in its own way, building a claustrophobic/paranoia vibe, cycling bold thrusts forward into ego deaths, the one-step-forward, two-steps-back patterns framing an overriding ask: what can we do to get past the back-and-forth conversation, to arrive at a place of acceptance?

On Three Bells, Ty and Denée Segall collaborated on five of the songs, including the previously released single, “Eggman.” Some of the songs needed the kind of playing Ty couldn’t get alone. Emmett Kelly’s bass parts not only addressed that need, but inspired the way the songs eventually went down. The remaining members of the Freedom Band were called in to play, transforming the material. Co-producer Cooper Crain, who deeply contributed to both Harmonizer and “Hello, Hi”, engineered and mixed most of the album.

With todays’ single, “My Room,” Ty rings the bell of the introvert who is empowered by the world inside his own room. The layers of acoustic and electric guitars dance around each other, quickening the already swinging tempo, while fuzz distortion blows the walls farther back as he takes us deeper. The accompanying music video was directed by longtime collaborators MattYoka and Ty, and features Ty steadfastly performing the song on stage as bananas are launched in his direction. He remains resolute in dedication to the craft, only to reveal a surreal dialogue between the dual facets of his own identity.

Three Bells takes Ty Segall’s trips so much deeper and farther than they’ve gone before — a masterpiece of personal expression, expressed through words, music and production, parabolically addressing malaise with compassion in a flowing, unstoppable hour-plus of intoxicating sound. Following the album’s release, Ty will tour throughout North America. Tickets are on sale now.

Pre-order Ty Segall’s Three Bells

Listen/Watch Ty Segall’s “My Room”

Listen/Watch Ty Segall’s “Void”

Listen/Watch Ty Segall’s “Eggman”

Three Bells Tracklisting:
1. The Bell
2. Void
3. I Hear
4. Hi Dee Dee
5. My Best Friend
6. Reflections
7. Move
8. Eggman
9. My Room
10. Watcher
11. Repetition
12. To You
13. Wait
14. Denée
15. What Can We Do

Ty Segall 2024 Tour Dates:
(new dates in bold)

Tue. Feb. 20 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
Wed. Feb. 21 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
Fri. Feb. 23 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern *
Sat. Feb. 24 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up
Fri. Apr. 19 – Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole
Sat. Apr. 20 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar
Mon. Apr. 22 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk (Outside)
Tue. Apr. 23 – Jackson, MS @ Duling Hall
Wed. Apr. 24 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
Fri. Apr. 26 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
Sat. Apr. 27 – Washington DC @ Lincoln Theatre
Sun. Apr. 28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Mon. Apr. 29 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
Wed. May 1 – Boston, MA @ Royale
Thu. May 2 – Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
Fri. May 3 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
Sun. May 5 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
Mon. May 6 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
Tue. May 7 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
Thu. May 9 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre
Sat. May 11 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s
Fri. June 28 – London, UK @ Roundhouse

# w/ Mike Donovan
* w/ White Fence

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]

[Thanks to Jessica at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Top 15 live shows of 2021: #’s 5 – 1

These are my top five shows of 2021. I hope to see more than 30 bands in 2022, but the future is now – so let’s get to it.

#5: Ty Segall – Psycho Music Festival – August 20th

Playing on a stage atop a wave pool, Ty Segall and his band put on one of the loudest, fiercest sets of the 2021 Psycho Music Festival. The power coming across the water was stunning.

#4: Clutch – Ft. Wayne’s Piere’s – September 29th

Clutch are always a top tier live band, and this show kept their reputation intact. They played a few new cuts and a lot of stuff from early in their catalogue they hadn’t played in a long while.

#3: Devo – Riot Fest – September 19th

I’m not sure I saw a more delighted crowd at any show in 2021. Everyone stopped caring about the heat and humidity, the overpriced food, and the terrible screamo bands on the lineup and started cheering, dancing, and singing.

#2: Frankie and the Witch Fingers – Psycho Music Festival – August 22nd

This set stunned everyone at the Mandalay House of Blues. It was my first time seeing FATW live, and the first time many in the crowd had heard them. It was their first gig in two years, and they came out gunning. I heard someone in another crowd later raving about them and telling everyone he could to listen to them. I can’t put it better than that.

#1: Osees – Psycho Music Festival – August 22nd

Holy crap. Osees closed the 2021 Psycho Music Festival’s outdoor stage on the last night of the four-night festival. They went bonkers. Yes, I know every Osees show is bonkers, but you could tell they had a lot of pent-up energy from not being able to play in front of a crowd for two years. People were charging through the wading pool in front of the stage, throwing beer buckets full of water on each other, or stumbling backwards on the beach as the wall of sound hit us like a bulldozer.

Everyone stay healthy in 2022 so we can see more shows.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]

Top 30 albums of 2021: #’s 25 – 21

Let’s not waste time. Here are the records that cracked my top 25 (of over 60) that I reviewed last year.

#25: The Beths – Auckland, New Zealand, 2020

This delightful live album from The Beths is full of joy. The band was over the moon, the crowd was ecstatic, and daring to open with “I’m Not Getting Excited” was a gutsy move when everyone in the place was bursting with energy.

#24: Acid Dad – Take It from the Dead

Acid Dad were a band I’d heard a lot about, yet didn’t know much about them. I caught them live about an hour from my house and was sold within two songs. Take It from the Dead is a fine psych-rock record with touches of surf that make it a standout.

#23: Ty Segall – Harmonizer

Ty Segall added a bunch of synths and electronic beats to his already heavy fuzz rock, and the result, Harmonizer, was impressive. He showed his love for krautrock and even dance rock, and that he could pull off both genres as easily as psych jams.

#22: Morly – Till I Start Speaking

Easily one of the loveliest and sexiest albums of 2022, Till I Start Speaking is a great mix of Morly’s vocals, electro-beats, and synths. I hadn’t heard of Morly until this record was sent to me, and it was a pleasant discovery.

#21: Pearl & The Oysters – Flowerland

Speaking of lovely records, here’s another one. Bossa nova, disco, ambient, and house all merge together for an album as pretty and trippy as its cover.

Who makes the top 20? You’ll learn tomorrow!

Keep your mind open.

[Why not start off the year by subscribing?]

Review: Ty Segall – Harmonizer

Released as a surprise to his fans and the world in general, Ty Segall‘s newest album, Harmonizer, has him embracing and exploring synthwave and krautrock after a forced-upon two-year hiatus (Screw you, pandemic!) from releasing new material – which, to the prolific Segall, must have felt like two decades.

Opening track “Learning” throws bright synths, processed beats, and 1980s keyboard blips together as an introduction to his new obsession. “Whisper” adds funky bass and scorching guitars to the mix as he sings about loss of identity through circumstances beyond one’s control (“Look into the mirror and see it. Who is it?”). The deep synths on “Erased” add even more menace to the dark lyrics about being drowned out in a sea of anger, rage, noise, and psycho-babble.

The title track blends the industrial synths and chainsaw guitars well and is another song about the complexities of language, communication, and the desire to be heard. It’s not hard to imagine this was how Segall was feeling during two years of not being able to tour or meet with his bandmates, let alone how a lot of us felt during the last election when fringe voices were given the forefront.

“Pictures” gets all sorts of synth-crazy for a while and then makes a right turn into synth-funk suitable for slow dances in a goth nightclub. Plus, the guitar solo on it is pretty damn cool. “Ride” introduces us to the character of Waxman, who is the subject of the following track and might be a frightening vision Segall had of his possible older years. It’s a heavy bass thumper that would probably melt wax if played at the right volume.

“All I want to do is play,” Segall sings at the beginning of “Play.” That probably sums up how he felt during self-isolation. It’s a neat cut to boot, flashing wild guitar and synth bass over a beat that hip hop DJs are probably stealing even now. “Feel Good” might be the most erotic track Segall’s ever written, and his wife Denée’s vocals on it are sexy yet distant. It’s a great post-punk track that sings of desire and lust but also tells you through its delivery that you might deserve neither. The album closes with the hopeful “Changing Contours” as Segall realizes that things might be turning around for him and the world (“And now it’s finally changing contours, and when I’m being, I am free. New perspectives seen. Now I’m breathing in all I see.”).

We shouldn’t be surprised that Segall recorded an album during lockdown, nor should we be surprised at how good Harmonizer is. The guy doesn’t seem to miss.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Ahmad at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Psycho Las Vegas 2021 recap: Day Two

We started off the second day of the Las Vegas Psycho Music Festival with what would become our morning ritual over the next three days – lounging by the Luxor Casino Hotel’s pool in the dry heat after picking up a breakfast sandwich at one of the somewhat-overpriced restaurants in the hotel. We’d relax for a couple hours, wash off the sweat, and then go see some bands. It was a great way to save money because we had little time to spend at the gambling tables and slot machines.

Our musical entertainment began with Foie Gras and her industrial-goth set at the Mandalay Bay House of Blues venue. She put on a good set to an early crowd, and my wife loved her combination of a T-shirt and flamenco dancer sleeves.

Foie Gras with her rockin’ sleeves and blood-painted knees.

Up next was something completely different – a set by Deathchant, who I can probably best describe as sounding like a fuzzier Thin Lizzy. The played the “Rock & Rhythm Lounge,” which is in near multiple restaurants in the casino, so you can get your eardrums blasted while enjoying your expensive wine and French cuisine – or while shoving money into video slot machines. Deathchant were loud and rough and a wild afternoon wakeup call.

Deathchant playing like every song was their finale.

We took a five-hour break, more than enough time to get a nap and dinner before coming back to the Lounge to see British stoner metal quartet Psychlona. It was their first gig win Las Vegas and only their second show of their U.S. tour. “We are so fucking stoked,” their lead singer said, and they certainly played like it. Afterward, their singer told me their set was better than the one they’d just played in San Diego the previous night.

Shoegaze quartet Highlands were up next and brought a welcome change of sound to the Lounge and the festival in general. I’m a big shoegaze fan, and they didn’t disappoint. There was a nice, reverb-laden wall of sound coming from the stage for their whole set.

We then zipped across the casino and back to the House of Blues to see one of my most anticipated sets of the festival – a Bossa nova set from Claude Fontaine. The set was lightly attended, and I couldn’t help but think many were there from a previous metal set or waiting for the next metal band to play after her. The crowd wasn’t sure what to make of her at first, as they’d been so used to metal that a soft set of Bossa nova tracks with dub influences seemed alien to them. Ms. Fontaine put on the loveliest set of the festival (her first time playing in Las Vegas) and the small crowd did come around to appreciating the hypnotizing, alluring music she gave.

Our night ended at the Mandalay Beach stage, which sits opposite a man-made beach on a wave pool, where we saw Ty Segall and his band shred the place with their loud psychedelia – their first gig in two years. Segall’s wife even sang lead on one track. They sounded great, and the volume of the band was amplified not only by electronics, but also the water bouncing it all over the place.

Ty Segall and his crew partying at the beach.

It was our busiest day of the festival for bands – six in one day – but there were plenty more to come.

Up next, more shoegaze at the Lounge and three arena shows ranging from dub to goth metal.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re here.]

FUZZ unleash new single, “Spit,” from upcoming album.

FUZZ, the raw power trio comprised of Los Angeles-based Ty Segall (drums, vocals), Charles Moothart (guitar, vocals), and Chad Ubovich (bass, vocals), will release their new album and first in five years, III, on October 23rd via In The Red. Today, FUZZ release a new single, “Spit,” and its mind-bending stop motion video. Following lead single “Returning,” an auditory meditation on the power of one and the different perspectives of one, “Spit” is fierce with buzzing guitar licks and pummeling percussion. Its video, made by Moothart, reflects this intensity, with nightmarish characters spun from wire and trippy collages.

“‘Spit’ was written early in the process of working on III. When Ty and I first started working on this song, we didn’t know if it was even going to be a FUZZ song or not,” says Moothart. “We wanted to make a song that felt straight forward, but had a subtle tweak that over time gets more obvious. The verse riff almost feels like you’re falling asleep at the wheel then the chorus opens up with a melodic, but sharp riff that adds to the punch-drunk feeling of the verse.”

Moothart elaborates on the video: “I started doing stop motion as a quarantine experiment. I wanted to make experimental animation that I could try to make sound design for, and I ended up just making a FUZZ video. It was an extremely fun project to take on in this time. It was especially fun to open up for feedback and ask for direction so that I had to challenge myself to complete something that felt cohesive. I was honored when it became more clear that I had actually created something that the band wanted to stand behind from an aesthetic standpoint.”

Watch FUZZ’s Video for “Spit”

The follow-up to 2015’s II, “an impressive double album made for headbanging and the cultivation of bad vibes” (NPR Music), III keeps the focus on the live sounds of the band. It was recorded and mixed at United Recording under the sonic lordship of Steve Albini, with minimal use of overdubs and studio tricks. Albini’s mastery in capturing sound gave FUZZ the ability to focus entirely on the playing while knowing the natural sounds would land. It takes the essential ingredients of “guitar based music” and “rock and roll power trio” and puts them right out on the chopping block. It was a much more honest approach for FUZZ — three humans getting primitive, staying primitive.

A pyramid of sonic destruction and psychic creation, all shades of color, truth and lies. III is the pillar of unity and singularity. Log out, drop thought, turn up.
Listen to “Returning”

Pre-order III

FUZZ Tour Dates:
Thu. Dec. 3 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Fri. Dec. 4 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Sat. Dec. 5 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Fri. Jan. 22 – Sat. Jan. 23 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
Mon. Jan. 25 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
Tue. Jan. 26 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
Wed. Jan. 27 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre
Fri. Jan. 29 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s
Sat. Jan. 30 – Felton, CA @ Felton Music Hall
Thu. Feb. 4 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
Fri. Feb. 5 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
Sat. Feb. 6 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
Sun. Feb. 7 – Montreal, QC @ La Tulipe
Mon. Feb. 8 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
Wed. Feb. 10 – New York, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Thu. Feb. 11 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Fri. Feb. 12 – Baltimore, MD @ OttoBar
Sat. Feb. 13 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
Sun. Feb. 14 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre
Sat. March 13 – Istanbul, TR @ Zorlu Art Center
Tue. March 16 – Nimes, FR @ Paloma
Wed. March 17 – Barcelona, ES @ Upload
Thu. March 18 – Madrid, ES @ BUT
Sat. March 20 – Bilbao, ES @ Santana 27
Mon. March 22 – Biarritz, FR @ Atabal
Wed. March 24 – Paris, FR @ Trabendo
Thu. March 25 – Lille, FR @ Aeronef
Fri. March 26 – Köln, DE @ Gebaude 9
Sat. March 27 – Berlin, DE @ Columbian Theater
Tue. March 30 – Manchester, UK @ Gorilla
Wed. March 31 – London, UK @ Electric Ballroom

Keep your mind open.

[Head on over to the subscription box while you’re here.]

[Thanks to Jim at Pitch Perfect PR.]

FUZZ are “Returning” with new single.

FUZZ, the raw power trio comprised of Los Angeles-based Ty Segall (drums, vocals), Charles Moothart (guitar, vocals), and Chad Ubovich (bass, vocals), announce their first album in five years, III, out October 23rd on In The Red Recordings. It’s the follow-up to 2015’s II, “an impressive double album made for headbanging and the cultivation of bad vibes” (NPR Music). In conjunction with today’s announcement, the band present III’s lead single, “Returning.”

III was recorded and mixed at United Recording under the sonic lordship of Steve Albini. Keeping the focus on the live sounds of the band, the use of overdubs and studio tricks were kept to a minimum. Albini’s mastery in capturing sound gave FUZZ the ability to focus entirely on the playing while knowing the natural sounds would land. It takes the essential ingredients of “guitar based music” and “rock and roll power trio” and puts them right out on the chopping block. It was a much more honest approach for FUZZ — three humans getting primitive, staying primitive. The goal was never to reinvent the wheel. Sometimes it’s just about seeing how long you can hold on before you’re thrown off.

Album opener “Returning” serves as a sort of mission statement for the album. It’s an auditory meditation on the power of one and the different perspectives of one, whether it is the singular person looking inward, or a group of people coming together as a single unit. Not only is it an echo of the return of FUZZ, but also a broader return to form – raw and empowered through vulnerability.

A pyramid of sonic destruction and psychic creation, all shades of color, truth and lies. III is the pillar of unity and singularity. Log out, drop thought, turn up.
Listen to FUZZ’s “Returning”

Pre-order III

III Tracklist
1. Returning
2. Nothing People
3. Spit
4. Time Collapse
5. Mirror
6. Close Your Eyes
7. Blind to Vines
8. End Returning

FUZZ Tour Dates:
Thu. Dec. 3 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Fri. Dec. 4 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Sat. Dec. 5 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Fri. Jan. 22 – Sat. Jan. 23 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
Mon. Jan. 25 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
Tue. Jan. 26 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
Wed. Jan. 27 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre
Fri. Jan. 29 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s
Sat. Jan. 30 – Felton, CA @ Felton Music Hall
Thu. Feb. 4 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
Fri. Feb. 5 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
Sat. Feb. 6 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
Sun. Feb. 7 – Montreal, QC @ La Tulipe
Mon. Feb. 8 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
Wed. Feb. 10 – New York, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Thu. Feb. 11 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Fri. Feb. 12 – Baltimore, MD @ OttoBar
Sat. Feb. 13 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
Sun. Feb. 14 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre
Sat. March 13 – Istanbul, TR @ Zorlu Art Center
Tue. March 16 – Nimes, FR @ Paloma
Wed. March 17 – Barcelona, ES @ Upload
Thu. March 18 – Madrid, ES @ BUT
Sat. March 20 – Bilbao, ES @ Santana 27
Mon. March 22 – Biarritz, FR @ Atabal
Wed. March 24 – Paris, FR @ Trabendo
Thu. March 25 – Lille, FR @ Aeronef
Fri. March 26 – Köln, DE @ Gebaude 9
Sat. March 27 – Berlin, DE @ Columbian Theater
Tue. March 30 – Manchester, UK @ Gorilla
Wed. March 31 – London, UK @ Electric Ballroom

Keep your mind open.

[Keep music news and reviews returning to your inbox by subscribing.]

[Thanks to Jessica at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Fuzz announce first North American tour in five years.

“this is music meant to be played at a volume walls can’t contain. Fuzz’s namesake is no joke, either — this is proto-metal, anvil-head blues-rock, thick like cement about to harden.” – NPR Music

FUZZ, comprised of Ty Segall (drums, vocals), Charles Moothart (guitar, vocals), and Chad Ubovich (bass, vocals), announces a North American tour – their first since winter 2015. The band will bring their rowdy live shows across the states, including three nights at Los Angeles’s Teragram Ballroom and to Chicago’s Thalia Hall, New York’s Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg, and more. There will be additional FUZZ-related news in the coming weeks. Tickets are on sale now.

FUZZ Tour Dates:
Wed. May 27 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
Fri. May 29 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater
Sat. May 30 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre
Sun. May 31 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
Tue. June 2 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s
Wed. June 3 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Felton Music Hall
Fri. June 5 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Sat. June 6 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Sun. June 7 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Thu. June 18 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
Fri. June 19 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
Sat. June 20 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
Sun. June 21 – Montreal, QC @ La Tulipe
Mon. June 22 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
Wed. June 24 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Thu. June 25 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Fri. June 26 – Baltimore, MD @ OttoBar
Sat. June 27 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
Sun. June 28 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Small’s Theater

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Ty Segall – First Taste

Ty Segall‘s Freedom’s Goblin was a wild, freewheeling record mixing all sorts of influences ranging from angry punk to disco funk. His newest record, First Taste, is tighter, but no less chaotic.

The album opens with a weird hiss on “Taste,” a song about how our choices are often bad ones (“Our salivating makes it all taste worse.”), as Segall and his bandmate, Charles Moothart, lay down double drumming amid heavy synths. The synths get all wiggly on “Whatever” – a song that’s about a D/s relationship on its surface but I suspect is actually about being willing to do anything to salvage a relationship.

Strange percussion that sounds like shaken strings of seashells starts “Ice Plant,” an odd cut about the sun warming up a cold day in California. More cool double drumming opens “The Fall,” a wild track that I’m sure gets the mosh pit jumping whenever Mr. Segall plays it live. Segall has written songs about his dog before, so “I Worship the Dog” is another good entry to this batch of his songs. It has a cool buzz to it that might be from a kazoo patched through a distortion pedal for all I know.

Segall plays a bouzouki (Yes, you read that right.) on “The Arms” – a cool track that blends psychedelia with Eastern sounds. More of that sweet Segall-Moothart double drumming comes back for the quick instrumental “When I Met My Parents (Part 1).”

Segall keeps rocking that bouzouki on “I Sing Them” – a song about how his music helps him through self-expression, thus bringing him freedom. His lyrics of “All I got is what I’d say. So I don’t speak or talk or pray. I sing them. I sing my song so I am free. I sing my song and sound like me.” pretty much sum up how every artist feels about their work. Then, just to baffle you, Segall gives us the mostly instrumental (The sole lyrics are “Close your eyes. Everything is just dreaming.”) synth-wave jam “When I Met My Parents (Part 3).” Where’s Part 2? I don’t know.

“Radio” is another trippy track about the dissolution of the body and the embrace of a new light, although Segall’s lyrics of “I just want to sit and watch the new radio, watching people die all night long on the radio.” make me think it’s a cautionary tale of becoming enslaved to our phones. “Self Esteem” starts funky, devolves into avant-garde jazz madness, and then goes back into percussion-heavy funk. The album ends with the mandolin-drive “Lone Cowboys.” It’s almost like a sprint (towards death?) at the end of a race with its fast beats and lyrics like “…when you reach it, make sure it’s whole. When you feel it, you’re all alone.”

First Taste would be a great name for a debut album, but Ty Segall is well beyond his debut record. He’s prolific, to say the least. This album could be a first taste of other musical experimentation to come from him, and that’s a good thing.

Keep your mind open.

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