In the age of over-production and clinical sounding music, there are still some who understand how to write/record music. Reluctant to conform to whatever current trends might be taking place, one who marches to the beat of their own drum is Ty Segall.
Segall, a seasoned veteran who has been making music professionally now for over fifteen years, has played with several bands, but ultimately has excelled as a solo artist. First putting out his self-titled solo record in 2008, since that time he has built a successful career among Indie Rock fans with others such as 2014’s Manipulator, 2016’s Emotional Mugger, and 2018’s Freedom’s Goblin. Remaining consistent, and inspired to try new things, the last we heard from Segall was on his 2022 album Hello, Hi. Something of an acoustic-based collection, now in 2024, he returns with a magical oasis of sounds on what he calls Three Bells.
Segall’s fifteen overall studio record (making him average roughly an album per year), Three Bells arrives on January 26th through Drag City. Fifteen songs in total, it is really something that should be absorbed as a collection, opposed to one song here and there. A foreign concept in the world of shrunken attention spans and single-serving streams, Segall’s trippy set reminds you what Rock-n-Roll is really about… it is to get lost in the music!
Sounding real and full of fuzz, the experience fits snug within the Garage Rock Revival genre, appealing to younger fans, but also something that to those who dig The Beatles or David Bowie. An ascetic that is achieved through careful mixing that separates each instrumental tone, what really stands out here is the experimentation Segall showcases. Not limited himself, he really dives deep into various corners of Rock-n-Roll that only someone with confidence and familiarity would feel comfortable doing. With this he creates songs that are interesting, at times a bit odd, but never anything less than attention grabbing.
A lot to take in, considering this is really a double album, some of the showstoppers include the title-track, “Reflections,” “Move,” as well as “Hi Dee Dee” and “Denee” (both clearly influenced by Segall’s collaborator and wife, Denée). In enough words, the approach to Three Bells is more about letting the music go where it may without trying to fit within a particular form to appease a particular audience.
All this said, describing the fabrics that hold Three Bells together is extremely difficult… because it is really all over and quite free form. Almost feeling like a jam session between Segall and his regular musician friends including Mikal Cronin (bass), Emmett Kelly (bass), Charles Moothart (drums) and Ben Boye (keyboards), it still manages to come together rather organically. Experimentally produced by Segall and Cooper Crain, Three Bells is simply an album that needs to be heard to understand. Lovely, living, breathing Rock-n-Roll, Cryptic Rock gives it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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