Fuzz - Sunderberry Dream 7'' (In the Red, 2013)

Fuzz
Sunderberry Dream 7''
In the Red
2013

Rating: 7.5 soggy fries out of 10

Fuzz, Ty Segall, yada yada yada...y'all know the back story of this band.  The title track here is great and all but the real story is the B-side, a cover of the King Crimson song "21st Century Schizoid Man."  Holy shit this track just burned my eardrums from the inside out!  It's pummellingly sludgy and heavy in all the right ways, like a hammer to the head of a compulsive drunkard you find in a dark alley.  Did I say too much?  I've honestly never paid any attention to King Crimson, thinking they were just one of those prog bands that the weird smelly guys who enjoy role playing games like, but this has me rethinking not only my stance on that band but life as a whole. I really don't want to go to any special stores to buy dice with more than six sides. 

Fuzz - Fuzz (In The Red, 2013)

Fuzz
Fuzz
In The Red
2013

Rating: 8 credible witnesses out of 10

Given that this was on of my favorite records of the year in 2013, I was surprised I hadn't written one of my trademark shitty reviews of this self-titled Fuzz record yet. Has there ever been a more fitting name for a band?  The music is heavy and very, well, fuzzy.  In case you don't know this is yet another project from Ty Segall, and where the dude finds the time, energy or imagination to create so much music is completely beyond me.  Especially when it's good quality - hell, I could write a thousand terrible songs, but the dude seems to have struck musician's gold or was granted wishes from a genie or something.  In this band Segall plays drums and sings, and is joined by Charlie Mootheart and Roland Cosio to create this heavy rock bastard child that sounds like a mashup of James Gang and Black Sabbath.  It's a combination that really, really works.  And while not related to the album review, live they're just as good and highly recommended. 

Ty Segall - Would You Be My Love 7'' (Drag City, 2013)

Ty Segall
Would You Be My Love 7''
Drag City
2013

Rating: 6 water bottles out of 10

A rather uneventful seven inch by the current god of the garage underground, Ty Segall.  Side A is the title track "Would You Be My Love," which is already available on the "Twins" record - good song but nothing new there.   The B-side "For Those Who Weep" is a mellow acoustic track that sounds a lot like the Beatles to be honest.  Not my favorite work by Segall but a nice track.  This release is worth grabbing if you're a big fan, but nothing I'd go out of my way for. 

Fuzz - This Time I Got a Reason 7'' (Trouble in Mind, 2012)

Fuzz
This Time I Got a Reason 7''
Trouble in Mind
2012

Rating: 7 loud cicadas out of 10

Fuzz is a new band out of SF featuring Ty Segall and Charlie Mootheart.  At this point I've given up trying to keep up with all of Segall's releases, but with only this seven inch under their belt I can at least say I'm up-to-date on Fuzz.  This isn't a typical Ty Segall affair - like the name implies, this is distorted hard rock in the vein of Sabbath or the always underrated Blue Cheer.  Segall on drums and vocals, Charlie on guitar, the smell of bong smoke in the air.  It's nothing groundbreaking, but it's hard not to like some good stoner rock jams. 

It will be interesting to see how far the guys take this - hopefully a full length is in the works.  Knowing Segall, a half-dozen full lengths are in the works, all to be released before the summer gets here.   

Ty Segall Band - Slaughterhouse (In The Red, 2012)

Ty Segall Band
Slaughterhouse
In The Red
2012

Rating: 7.5 jello shots out of 10

I've completely given up on trying to keep up with all of the Ty Segall releases...his transformation into the garage pop version of Robert Pollard is seemingly complete.  But there is something a little different with "Slaughterhouse" - this record is credited to "Ty Segall Band," denoting a slight difference from his typical output over the last couple of years.  He apparently made this album with his touring band, and where the bulk of his recent material is a little more straight-forward pop, this is a guitar-heavy garage rock showdown.  It has a great raw/Memphis/Goner feel, like a record the kids of the Oblivians might make, with a heavy dose of dirty Detroit rock leanings (MC5, Stooges et al).  The album features ten great bursts of maniacal garage, and ten minute closer of noise that doesn't do much for me but maybe some feedback nuts will take pleasure in.  I've been so washed out on Segall releases it would have been easy to ignore this, and maybe his "real" fans will write this off as an anomoly not befitting his current direction, but this is the Segall I wanna hear more about. 

Ty Segall - Ty Rex EP (Goner, 2011)

Ty Segall

Ty Rex EP

Goner 

2011

Rating: 5 wooden salamanders out of 10

Ty Segall releases records almost as often as Robert Pollard, but to my knowledge Pollard has never released an EP entirely made up of T. Rex covers. I appreciate the effort, but I don't see this as something I'll be listening to all that often.  It sounds exactly as you'd expect - mostly straight-forward lo-fi, dingy recordings of the originals.  No interesting arrangements or anything special really, just a garage rock version of some pop classics.  To be perfectly honest, it just makes me want to listen to the originals.  Not to say that this release is terrible, and I'm sure his super fans are well into it, but...meh.  Mostly meh. 

Ty Segall - Goodbye Bread (Drag City, 2011)

Ty Segall
Goodbye Bread
Drag City
2011

Rating: 6 bags of seagull food out of 10

I like this Ty Segall record but I love the cover...it's a goddamn bloodhound people! Let's get excited!!! Ty certainly doesn't sound very excited, he sounds like his love of garage pop records and downers coincided on this platter. The whole thing sounds like it was recorded at the same syrupy tempo, which ain't bad for a few songs but over the course of the entire album does drag a little. Actually, it literally sounds like a dragging record at times...I keep wanting to adjust the tempo control. But don't get me wrong, there are some good tracks here - the back-to-back of "You Make The Sun Fry" and "I Can't Feel It" are quite nice.