Ty Segall & Mikal Cronin - 'Reverse Shark Attack'

I was a big fan of the noisey as hell 'Pop Song' 7" these two productive chaps put out last year on Goodbye Boozy Records with its distorto-garage punk and sci-fi guitar lines, so i'm glad they are back with a full album, nicely put onto tape by what is fast becoming my favourite tape label, Burger Records.

Starting with the stomp and swagger of 'I Wear Black', you can tell this won't be a subtle record like some of Ty's solo stuff. The vocals seem a bit lower and dirtier with a hint of Lux Interior to them, and although for people like me who love anything these guys have done before like Charlie & The Moonhearts, Epsilons, Traditional Fools, Party Fowl etc this is forging a slightly different path and i wouldn't immediately judge this album against previous efforts. There is a fair amount of delay and noise effects, and i think some nicely overdriven organ/keys too which gives it a little bit of spacey feel, often coming in over the straight up four-to-the-floor sections to make the whole record an interesting listen.

There is also a cover of Pink Floyd's 'Tale Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk' which they have managed to make their own, as it nestles with the other tracks nicely. I don't know the original at all, but i'm going to presume its a Syd Barret era tune from before the prog took over the psych??

At the end of the Album is the a 10 min long freak out of a title track, starting out as a pretty psychedelic and effect driven tune with vibrating vox that starts out not as aggressive as the previous songs on this tape, which then drifts into an acoustic guitar passage with only the reverb drenched vocals remaining before the drums ride back in and the main hook is repeated on the guitars. It starts to freak out more and more with shrill brass coming in as the songs starts to climax before a stuttering sonic meltdown that finally segues into a Dick Dale surf riff that keeps on building and building building before a sharp clattering stop, bringing to an end this tape in a triumphant way.

As these two dudes seem to kick out an endless amount of records, i'm hoping there will be more from this awesome duo that builds on this album of aggressive psych, garage and punk.

Ty Segall & Mikal Cronin - Reverse Shark Attack (Burger Records)

1. I Wear Black
2. Drop Dead Baby
3. High School
4. Ramona
5. Doctor Doctor
6. Bikini Babes
7. Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk
8. Reverse Shark Attack
   

Ty Segall & Mikal Cronin "I Wear Black" from Claire Marie Films on Vimeo.