The C.I.A. – S/T
Stuck for last-minute gift ideas when the big C is now very quickly heading our way? Look no further than Ty Segall’s sixth (!) LP of the year, this time under the guise The C.I.A (other releases this year having either been under his own name, as GØGGS, and/or alongside White Fence). In fact, though, it’s unfair to call this “a Ty Segall album”, and he knows it, for the remainder of The C.I.A. line up comprises The Cairo Gang’s Emmett Kelly and, more importantly still, Segall’s wife Denée. Wisely letting the missus take the lead and vocal on this one, you wouldn’t actually recognise this trashy electro-punk offering as a Ty Segall project at all save for a few trademark heavy fuzz tones.
Following on from a teaser tape earlier this year, this self-titled album is basically a bit of fun for all concerned. It’s messy, marauding and, to be honest, as most tracks don’t even last 3 minutes, it’s a little throwaway too. There’s po-faced punk and then there’s the sort of stuff that doesn’t take itself remotely seriously like this; hell, the outlet’s even called The C.I.A., because why not?!
Accordingly, Ms Segall yelps over dangerously rapid-fire drum machine patterns, Mr Segall ripping the place up with churning fuzz and feedback, Kelly (presumably) having a wail of time with spacey FX and oscillations. It’s a format repeated time and again, the crunch and bite of urgent punk tempering the wilder excesses of all three of these audio terrorists. Still, near everything sounds like it’s a 33 played at 45, “Power” standing alone in doing the exact opposite, its sludgy rhythm and doom-fuzz at odds with a track like the sexy lead single “Pleasure Seeker” in which Denée spits out the title in machine-gun repeats during the chorus. The Segalls, it seems, are the gift that keeps on giving.
Best track: “Pleasure Seeker”
~The C.I.A. is released 21st December 2018 via In The Red.~