2018 has barely started and Ty Segall's laying into us with 18 new tracks & a cover of Hot Chocolate's 'Every 1's A Winner'. What Ty are we getting this time - fuzzed-up and insanely barking or one of his more mellow, pop oriented incarnations?

The answer is both and more.

Opening track 'Fanny Dog' owes a debt to soul and that's further emphasised on the follow-up, 'Rain', which also gives the nod to the earliest days of jazz with its use of woozy horns throughout. Elsewhere the horns go off on a no wave tip ('The Main Pretender', 'Talkin' 3') with, apparently, Mikal Cronin blowing for all he's worth. 

Elsewhere Segall & the band pick up the pace and thrash it out on 'When Mommy Kills You', 'Meaning' and 'Alta' so it's not all lunges off into new musical directions. It is though his most diverse album to date and, whilst not really a surprise as such, you can't help but be impressed at the breadth of talent exposed on it.

This is pop taken to extremes and new heights in equal measure.

Most tracks clock in at around the three or four minute mark but the stand out 'She' and final song 'And Goodnight' last six and 12 minutes respectively. 'She' is the sort of track anyone who's seen Segall live will be able to conjure a vision from - one of him and the band getting fully into it onstage and the audience going mental. 

'And Goodnight', on the other hand, ably fills the role of closing song from a '70s rock set. Not quite anthemic, it nevertheless scales great heights and ably finishes off the album. Difficult as it is to see how a crowd would be calm enough for it after the frenzy Segall can whip them into, if anyone can pull it off it's him. 

Freedom's Goblin is available from Drag City and bandcamp.

Having had only three albums released in 2016 the bettors amongst you may well get good odds on him topping that this year, seeing as we’re not out of January yet and Ty Segall’s dropping a new album upon us. Cheeky chap that he is it’s self-titled (the musical equivalent of an untitled artwork) & so named the same as his 2008 album. Cue a possible boost to back-catalogue sales.

Musically this is Segall’s first album with a full band for a while although how you’d know that just by listening to it I’ve no idea. Style-wise it would easily pass a blind test as having his hands all over it. Speaking of hands there’s a ten minute track in the third slot of the ten, ‘Warm Hands (Freedom Returned)’, which is rather like the album in miniature – ferocious bits and languid, noodly bits. This works fine on record but live it could possibly be a bore.

Ty Segall starts off with one of those ferocious bits as opening track ‘Break A Guitar’ races out of the speakers. Not quite as much of a punch to the face as ‘Falling In’ in the similar position on last year’s Goggs but definitely a near relative.

Elsewhere (on ‘Orange Color Queen’ for example) Segall’s interest in Marc Bolan is as evident as ever, his voice resembling the late singer’s on a number of the album’s softer tracks. ‘Papers’ and ‘Take Care (To Comb Your Hair)’, towards the album’s end are probably two of Segall’s most mature songs, particularly the piano arrangement on the former. Not that there’s anything wrong with the fun elements that a bit of immaturity can bring to proceedings (which is what we love him for).

Ty Segall ends rather abruptly as it turns out that the tenth track is in fact just 12 seconds long so may as well be the recording of a fart. It’s called ‘Untitled’, which is where we came in. 

Ty Segall is available from amazon.