Titus Andronicus has emerged two years after The Monitor with something a little more accessible in Local Business. This comes at the expense of a very good thing Titus Andronicus had going though. The long-form Americana punk rock, Desaparecidos-era Conor Oberst style vocals, and most of the fuzz on the guitars is mostly gone. Insert more succinct song structure, vocals nearing on cartoonish, and cleaner instrumentation, and Local Business is a very different animal. Continue reading “Titus Andronicus Review: Local Business”
Three albums…in one year? Who is this guy? This, my friends, is the garage rock king, Ty Segall.
First came the psychedelic collaboration Hair with Tim Presley of White Fence. Then came the fuzzed out monster with Charlie Moonheart on Slaughterhouse. Now is the official release and new album from Ty Segall himself, Twins.
After listening to the new album, I had to ask myself, “How does he do it?” Not only is he one of the most prolific artists out there, but everything he puts out is just, well…awesome. It’s clear Ty Segall doesn’t sacrifice quality for quantity.
Twins bursts out of the speakers with more of an aggressive kick than it’s predecessor Goodbye Bread, and with much of the scary fuzz heard onSlaughterhouse. As always, its a hodgepodge of styles in three minute bursts, but the album somehow manages to sound like a cohesive unit. His signature mix of garage rock and psychedelia with monster guitars, catchy hooks, and manic tempos are all still there.
The album opens with the throwback sound of “Thank God For Sinners,” and rolls right into the onslaught of pure punk with “You’re The Doctor.” A few songs like “The Hill” and “Handglams” start out slow, but end up in the same, manic state as the wilder numbers.
“Would You Be My Love” and “Love Fuzz” are both fun numbers that showcase Ty Segall’s mastery of catchy singalongs. He still has his psych roots with a great wah guitar riff on “Who Are You” and the Beatles-esqe “There Is No Tomorrow.”
If Goodbye Bread showed Ty Segall holding back the power of his music, Twins is certainly the opposite. Only the strummer “Gold On The Shore” tones the guitars back, where others like “They Told Me Too” are as loud and crazy as he can possibly get.
Ty Segall has been compared to the late Jay Reatard (RIP) for his prolific output and louder than life sound. Yet where Jay brought aggression, Ty brings enjoyment, and his music is like a wild hippie dance in the middle of a mosh pit. Always loud and proud, and with three albums this year alone, we can be thankful that there is no slowing the king down.
9/11
Can’t Miss: “Thank God For Sinners,” “Ghost,” “They Told Me Too,” “You’re The Doctor.”
Two weeks from today will
mark the glorious directorial debut of Wu-Tangs one and only RZA.
November 2nd, we will be hit hard by one of the most over the top
kung fu movies to be released in the US in many years, The Man With the Iron Fists. Produced by
Quentin Tarantino and written by Eli Roth and RZA, it has an
instant draw if not only marked purely by curiosity. As over the
top as it comes off in the trailer, I can only imagine how
ridiculously awesome the entire hour and a half will be. Although
RZA is certainly no stranger to the film world, this is the first
time he has written or directed anything. The fact that it was
co-written by Eli Roth ensures maximum blood and gore. It should be
a real eye gauger. Perhaps the biggest bonus you get with having
RZA so heavily involved with a movie is that you are graced with a
killer soundtrack, and judging by the album’s full track list that
is exactly what we have here:
Wes is on a pretty epic 12-day road trip out to Seattle, then up to Vancouver, and back to Chicago. Along the way, him and Jackie (his wife for the uninitiated) are stopping at Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone, and many other beautiful places along the way. In honor of this trip, and in hopes of his safe return, we put our heads together to come up with the top ten road trip songs to keep Wes and Jackie alert, energized, and most importantly awake on this endeavor.
We tried to limit our choices for this list to songs actually about traveling to some degree. There are many songs and albums that we more abstractly view as road trip songs, but that would have opened this list up to too many options. We hope you enjoy these songs of the road, and as always feel free to bring more road trip songs of your preference to our attention. Continue reading “Top Ten Thursday: Life is a Highway (Best Road Trip Songs)”
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