Ty Segall & White Fence – Hair

When TY SEGALL and Tim Presley of WHITE FENCE team up for a record together, it’s kind of hard to expect anything less than epic. Sure enough, this duo leaves no stone unturned in their debut album together, titled Hair.

As said best by the folks at Drag City, this album is truly a “glintingly lysergic meeting of the minds” and that’s just about the most accurate way you could ever describe it. The album features eight full tracks for nearly a half-hour worth of material, where each track brings a little bit of something different to the table. Hair is like an amalgamation of 60s and 70s garage rock that spans anything from noise, punk, post-punk, psychedelic, surf and anything you thought you heard in-between the static fuzz. Tracks like “The Black Glove/ Rag,” “Crybaby” and “(I Can’t) Get Around You” all one way or another turn into a swirling metallic onslaught of clangorous noise (ranging from scorching guitars, bluesy and broken piano hits and clanking cymbals, it’s all there).

Aside from these noisy fuzz monstrosities, other tracks like “Time” or “Easy Ryder” are the polar opposites with their smooth and steady-rocking qualities. Take “Easy Ryder” which just might be the most fitting example. Crunchy guitars shimmer and glow in the sunlight amongst the free-flowing rhythm, leaving your eyes squinting and your foot tapping simultaneously. Segall spits witty, interchangeable lyrics that rhyme flawlessly with one another, creating what is probably the most accessible track on the record. Aside from accessibility, there’s a few remaining tracks that are much more challenging, those being “I Am Not a Game,” “Scissor People” and “Tongues.” “Scissor People” produces a sort of pulsing, stream-lined post-punk ass whipping that will leave you begging for mercy, driven by chunky bass lines and frenetic drumming. It’s the lone song on this record that sounds like this, but it’s certainly a beast in its own right.

The same goes for the final two tracks I haven’t covered, namely “I Am Not a Game” and “Tongues.” “I Am Not a Game” brings the lysergic qualities of the record right to the forefront, driven by kaleidoscopic synths and more crunchy guitars that help create a manic, unsettling vibe that literally explodes in your face. Now for the ending, “Tongues” is quite a funky jammer where Presley’s brother (?) Sean Presely joined in to help write the song. Punching bass lines combine with those glinting guitars and their scratchy nature, summing up Hair in raging five minute track that will have you calling this one of the best albums of the year without any doubt.

At this point the only problem now is that we need to hear more of this stuff. Before that happens you should go and grab the vinyl.

My Rating: SS
Genre/ Tags: Garage Rock, Psychedelic, Noise Rock, Pop
Hair LP: Tracklist:
1.) Time
2.) I Am Not a Game
3.) Easy Ryder
4.) The Black Glove/ Rag
5.) Crybaby
6.) (I Can’t) Get Around You
7.) Scissor People
8.) Tongues

BUY the LP directly from Insound – don’t wait on this one !
Ty Segall – Official Website
White Fence on Facebook

Past Related Posts:
Ty Segall/ White Fence Live @ Great American Music Hall (03/02/2012)
Find Ty Segall in our Top 25 Albums of 2011
Goodbye Bread LP (Drag City)
White Fence s/t (Make a Mess)
Singles: 2007-2010 (Goner)
I Can’t Feel It 7″ (Drag City)
Spiders 7″ (Drag City)
Harness 7″ (Afterlife)
Ty Segall/ Feeling of Love – Split 7″ (Permanent)