The Brag

Ty Segall & White Fence
Hair
Spunk
***1/2

Lo-fi king Ty Segall and one-man bedroom band White Fence (aka Tim Presley), two of
the poster boys of industrious music-making, have joined forces to produce Hair: an album that’s typical of the great bunch of psych-garage bands coming out of San Francisco right now.

White Fence takes an acid trip down memory lane, while Segall steers the boat into more experimental waters, but with less grit and attitude than either of their own albums. This convolution makes for interesting listening, and keeps a myriad of vaguely definable influences fresh and exciting.

The album runs at less than 30 minutes with only eight tracks, leaving no room for filler. ‘Time’ kicks it off with big guitar licks and feel-good stoner balladry, before it delves into an erratic yet agreeable tangent of heavy guitars and ethereal howls. The pulsing organ-filled start of ‘I Am Not A Game’ moves into a rocking jam, with the layered vocals in the background spotlighting the fuzzed rhythm guitar and killer guitar solo. ‘Easy Ryder’ is an instantly catchy time-hallowed pop song; same goes for the fun, fast-paced track ‘Crybaby’, which includes a great solo showcasing (what I’m guessing is) Segall’s keyboard virtuosity.

Like the duelling banjos in Deliverance, they seem to work well as a partnership. White Fence is like, “Hey Ty, I have a great song, think it’s by The Beatles but it’s a bit different,” and Segall is all like, “Hey, I’ll play drums on that and make it faster and faster. Oh shit, just pressed that guitar pedal, fuck this, let’s jam!” Then they get together for a hoedown and end up having sex with their own cousins.

Be sure to wear some flowers in your Hair.

Anna Kennedy