New Ty Segall & Mikal Cronin 7” EP 5/2020

Ty Segall & Mikal CroninPop Song 7" EPGoodbye Boozy RecordsRelease: May 1 2020
I heard a rumor this is being reissued.

The PR: 
Another week from Italy's always dependable Goodbye Boozyimprint. Like a spiritual cousin from across the Atlantic, GB's sound runs the gamut from lilliputian folk to scuzzy garage rock to full-on psych freak-outs and every nook and cranny in-between. with a release from the dynamic duo of Ty Segall & Mikal Cronin, “Pop Song” b/w “So I Went to Beach, Melody” & “Kit Carson”.

Ty as the man of a thousand bands, as he seemingly works with everyone on the West Coast and Mikal is no slouch himself, working with at least 4-5 bands we can think of off the top of our head. The most casual of this release batch, the three tunes here are all economical, hook-laden surf-garage-pop that Jonathan Richmond or The Clean would be proud to call their own.

Although hardly original, garage rock as a genre gets slammed with the accusation that it’s too imitative of someone or something else, another era that’s come and gone, whether it be the likes of Iggy and the Stooges or The Animals. Really, anyone who’s channeled aggression through a reverb pedal and thrashing drums.

Yet unlike their distant cousins hardcore and ‘70s punk, Cronin and Segall’s refurbished garage jams are neither brooding nor predatory. Stunningly raw — fresh, even — Pop Song prowls at the unsuspecting ear instead of tearing at flesh. Dual jaws take ahold of skin, sure, but with smirks that can only belong to two sleepy thirty-somethings changing the disgruntled face of garage rock.

What Do I Think? 
 Freaking fabulous! The first song “Pop Song” is  raucous quick catchy in and out garage groove performed with punk panache. “So I Went to the Beach, Melody” is right up my alley - full of tambourine attitude and noise. Lastly “Kit Carson” begins with 10 seconds of a familiar melody I’m surei know from the Horror film or tv genre and 50 seconds of primal screaming. It seems perfect for a jarring palette cleanser on a DHS night or your next mix cd. If people still do that. Is the EP worth buying? I say yes!