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Nov 07, 2018 Web Exclusive By Timothy Michalik

Ty Segall is a restless, erudite insomniac. Since January of 2018, Segall has dropped two full-length studio albums. Freedom’s Goblin, a monstrous solo effort, and Joy, a full length with longtime creative buddy White Fence. His latest studio album, Fudge Sandwich, is his third full-length in nine months, and it consists entirely of covers. He has long since mastered his craft, capturing not just a distinctive sound, but a distinctive attitude and sense of humor. Along the way, Segall manages to cover: War, John Lennon, Neil Young, Funkadelic, Gong, Sparks, The Grateful Dead, and The Spencer Davis Group, among others. He absolutely nails it.

Segall beefs up the classic Funkadelic track, “Hit It and Quit It,” adding a punk flair—and much, much more distortion and fuzz—while adding an off-swing boogie to War’s “Low Rider.” But one of Fudge Sandwich‘s most surprising moments is the cover of The Dils’ “Class War,” a driving, anthemic punk track that Segall instead strips down for and keeps it acoustic. This ferocious, urging style of rock is Segall’s strong suit. Meanwhile, Segall plays this same sort of trickery when he covers Neil Young’s “The Loner,” where Segall takes the calm temperament of Young’s original and rips it to shreds.

So it’s rather unsurprising that Fudge Sandwich, Segall’s latest album of covers and first since 2011’s Ty Rex-which consisted of solely T. Rex covers-is an adventurous and bizarre choice for Segall. But that’s just the way Segall works, always on his own schedule, always diverging from whatever his last project represented. Segall never likes to stay in one place for too long, and his perpetual restlessness shows on Fudge Sandwich, and what a joy that is-11 songs of pure, unadulterated Ty. (www.ty-segall.com)

Author rating: 8/10