Ty Segall
Sleeper
(Drag City)

If you believe in the law of averages, this was only a matter of time. With the sheer volume of music Ty Segall puts out, an acoustic album was inevitable. Then again, Segall is perhaps as well known for the noise he makes as he is for the frequency with which he releases it. He even named one of his bands Fuzz. What does Ty unplugged sound like?

I would place it in the genre that is sometimes referred to as freak folk. It’s tuneful and kind of off-kilter. Most of the tracks remind me of Syd Barrett or Tyrannosaurus Rex. This makes sense seeing as he’s already released two EPs of Tyrannosaurus/T. Rex covers. “She Don’t Care” has some flute and violin providing psychedelic touches, while “The Man Man” keeps trying to rock out until a distorted guitar finally breaks through. Then “Crazy” is playful and sing-songy like a Syd Barrett tune yet also sounds like Devendra Banhart from a few albums back.

The minimalism can feel a bit monochrome at times, but it’s fun to hear Segall play around and find variation with these limits. For instance “6th Street” is a naked blues song with some really cool slide playing (and some really silly slide playing). Album closer “The West” is as close as he’s come to playing country and it’s one of the best songs here. I dig this record all in all, but if you don’t, you probably won’t have to wait long for the next one. I’ll see you back here in a year to review Ty’s jazz album.