I just recently found this and had no idea this was released already. But, people who know me know that I just love Ty Segall (lead singer of Epsilons and The Traditional Fools) and I scour every place possible for his work. I didn't know who Black Time was, but I mean, if they're splitting with Ty, it's gotta be good. If you don't know what Ty Segall sounds like, he basically does what all bands today do. Lo-fi rock. But he does it with focus and precision, unlike most bands who just try to play power chords and smash drum kits. Ty is currently very prolific, releasing one after another, and the great thing about this is that he doesn't let his prolificacy get in the way of his songwriting. He also picked up a drummer, giving him a better opportunity to play guitar (he used to play drums and guitar at the same time).
The first half is Ty and starts loudly and abruptly with a fast (less than a minute), instrumental punk song. After hearing his previous recordings, you can tell that this was slightly recorded better. I'm glad that is because there's a lot more going on in the music and it doesn't sound all too good when it's just buried in fuzz and hiss. Afterwards, "Swag" comes in with an average drum beat; tom-tom-snare. The song can be easily mistaken for an Intelligence song. The melody sounds like something off Deuteronomy and even the vocals sound that way. While the drums are being taken care of by someone else, Ty now has the advantage to play more notes and get a little more technical. He takes that advantage and makes a loud, catchy punk song that's short enough for your attention span. "In Love" shows how the drummer isn't too bad either. The guitar and drum play the same thing constantly as the vocals change, sort of like Guided By Voices. "Be A Caveman" is just classic Ty Segall with its bluesy style and tone. "Goin Down" kicks in with a speedy drum roll and quickly changes into a punk song fit for bar fights, well maybe not bar fights, diner fights. "No No" is just about the same except it sounds like there's a drum machine involved and I wouldn't be surprised if there was. "Paid Played Out" is an OK finale to his part of the split, just another blues rock song slowed down. All in all, Ty made a great comeback with this split.
Black Time starts with "Contract". "One two three four!" and the noisy garage song begins. Sounds a little bit the same as Ty Segall but with vocals reminiscent of Psychedelic Horseshit. The song also has a little more variety and parts to it, redefining (hate to say it) "shitgaze" as we know it. Just a warning: Black Time's half is no cleaner sounding than Ty Segall's, if not noisier. "Infestation" is just another regurgitation of what we hear today. "You Make Me", same thing except it's a little bit like a filler. "Glass Shatters" is a little repetitive; repeating "glass shatters" over and over again. Half way through, it changes, luckily. "A Radio In The Dark" begins with someone screwing around with his guitar. Suddenly, it turns into a Psychedelic Horseshit song. But then there's a weird, sort of "oh shit" moment around the 1:23 mark it turns into this guitar, keyboard, and drum frenzy. "You Don't Love Me" is the only song on this half that is entirely sung by the girl in the band. It sounds like an odd medley of Mutators and Beat Happening. Not the best conclusion to the split, but I give them credit. This may not be as good as Ty Segall's part... give or take, although both halves were enjoyable overall.
I highly recommend this to any In The Red or Woodsist fiend. You can purchase this on vinyl, or if you don't have a turntable, you can grab this for six bones off the iTunes store.
No comments:
Post a Comment