Ty Segall: Twins

- Ty Segall is verging on becoming a goddamn musical nuisance, recording and releasing music at such a frantic rate it's hard to imagine there's any music floating around in his head that doesn't get pressed to wax. If I hadn't already had the slightly restrained pleasure of reviewing the previous two records Ty has put out so far this year, I'm sure I'd be finding it more difficult to keep up with the frenzied pace. After collaborating with White Fence's Tim Presley, in what spawned into a tripped out foray into experimental, throwback psychedelics and the lighter side of life, Segall's second release, for the first time under the slightly bizarre Ty Segall Band moniker (doesn't he usually record and play with a band?), saw Ty increase the intensity, shredding harder, louder and heavier than I've been privy to in the past, resulting in this blisteringly intense record that stands as a personal favourite in an ever expanding catalogue.

Third long player of the year Twins has got Segall reverting to releasing music as simply "Ty Segall" and dropping the "band" element from the masthead, which is, once again, more confusing than anything else, especially as the new record is really pretty similar in approach to previous effort, Slaughterhouse, perhaps just slightly reigning in the power-riffs and extended noodling, though both are still present in a pretty major way. Twins unsurprisingly doesn't have Ty reinvent the wheel or throw many spanners in the works, but it does see the fresh faced hunk continue to morph and evolve his style, tweaking and adopting sounds to create a record that really feels like the culmination of all that came before it. It maybe his least surprising effort, but it's also the most coherent and crafted album of pure songs he's pressed as one to date.

Twins succeeds in taking the new found cleaner, yet heavier side of Segall's most recent output and slaps it together with the more melodic, pop-sensibilities of his old-new output of just a year or two ago. If you've ever liked any record that Segall's been involved with, there's a real good chance you'll dig this - and if you've yet to drink from the rich draught of Ty's genius, now might be just the time to jump on in.
Though I can't be 100% sure what a "Handglam" is or if I've ever received one, what I can be sure of is that it's a hot new jam off the new Ty Segall record. Restrained for the first minute or so, until Segall gives in to the overwhelming urge to smash out some downright power chords that burst into a minute and a half of intensity in ten cities - and really, it's better than it sounds. Twins may not be the most shockingly gasp-inducing record I've ever heard, but it's another really top-notch release from a guy that seems to have a pretty solid knack for keeping things on the level.

- Jay Edwards.