I was in something of a quandry, listening to the latest Ty Segall album, Hello Hi, this morning. The question I was actually asking myself was 'Do I actually like this?'
I've been asking myself this about Segall for a while. Also about his near California contemporaries Oh Sees, who I underwent a long immersion on social media recently with a group I belong to.
Oh I'm not saying that Segall and Oh Sees don't put out good product. They put out very good product. They're consummate musicians and know their rock history better than you ever will, all of it's twists and turns. I'm sure they own all of the original albums, annuals and badges.
They're immersed in the musical past, well and truly. In Segall's case that means mostly Marc Bolan, who seems his formative and key influence, (his voice uncannily has the same elfin quiver), but also Hawkwind, Sabbath, Gong and various other Hippie and Metal standbys of the early Seventies.
If you like that stuff you'll probably like this. It's almost consumately replicated. I really like this kind of approach generally. I'm perfectly happy to unwind in the company of an Allah La's or Cool Ghou's album, as they reproduce the sound of Californa's original Golden Dawn one more time or some San Francisco indie band, making like they're in the South of England in 1986 and the C-86 compilation is coming out with the NME next week.
My abiding issue with both Segall and Oh Sees, is that what they do comes across to be as a rather cold and calculated exercise much as I like the actual music. I felt the same when I saw them both live within a short period a few years back. They don't entirely rock my boat as other practitioners of similar skills can.
So, that's where I stand with Hello, Hi. I'll give it further spins over the coming months. By the end of play one I was pretty much won over so I'm sure I'll be further committed to further spins. I'll probably alternate it with listens to Tyrannosaurus and T. Then see what I feel as I begin my own personal rundown of personal favourites in mid-September.
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