Lemons

Ty Segall | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 14, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Goner Records
• ASIN: B002BEXG90
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #108,357 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Look out Jay Reatard, this Bay Area one-man-band has even scuzzier static in his garage. --Spin

Product Description

Burying '60s sing-alongs and dance crazes beneath waves of reverb and giddy thud, Ty Segall has carved out his own shelf in the SF neopsych garage alongside SF compatriots and collaborators Sic Alps and Thee Oh Sees. After shattering the Bay Area underground as a frantic one-man-band that was devoured by the local press, Segall has now given up the solo act for a three piece that destroys sonic and melodic boundaries with manic glee. The new live setup is a better reflection of his studio work which generally starts with his one-man-band setup and builds from there. As an exploration of the space between Cro-Magnon fuzz and atmospheric acoustic psych, Lemons is the natural next step after his celebrated self-titled 2008 debut on Castle Face.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars another buoyant hope amongst the sinking many, July 21, 2009

By 

Samuel Gentle (New Orleans, LA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lemons (Audio CD)

It seems as if every time I begin to question the value of seeking new music, I soon rip that closing door off its hinges with a new discovery. My latest is Ty Segall. Since listening to this album I have dove head first into garage rock....a genre I had previously sampled but not thoroughly explored. My results? Fairly unexpected.

I always think it's interesting to approach a genre in reverse order. Going from the new bands on the scene and slowly making your way back to its roots. When digging through 60s garage bands (The Seeds, The Pretty Things, Standells, Troggs, etc.), I often get disappointed when I have to skip through songs that just sort of drag in spots, lean too heavily toward pop sensibilities, or simply lack the grit one would expect from the term garage. I acknowledge that this is due to my specific definition of "garage" that is obviously biased by my taste and retroactive approach. I just feel as if much (surely not all!) of early garage is better represented in compilation form, rather than being a sound well represented across these artists' albums. I suppose The Sonics are the first band that comes to mind as the archetypal sound I not-so-subconsciously seek. I need energy, I need power, and I need momentum.

In contrast, I feel that many of the garage bands today tend to lean toward the punk edge of garage which I find equally disappointing (Oblivians, Jay Reatard, etc). The Black Lips and King Khan and the BBQ Show are a couple that I feel synthesize the garage sound I love very well. So what does Ty Segall bring to the table? I suppose it's the perfect balance of garage ingredients I usually feel are in inappropriate proportions on many similar bands' records. You can definitely boogie to it, but it's also dripping with sex. And although Lemons possesses a range of momentum, it never loses my attention. To further a previous analogy, it's as if in the face of one ingredient being turned down, another maintains the balance so that the sum remains consistent.

Is this a flawless album? No. Can I stop listening to it? Yes...but only to catch my breath.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lemons a great stepping stone for Ty, December 21, 2010

By 

R. Howe - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lemons (Audio CD)

One former review declared Ty Segall to be equal parts Jack White & Dick Dale and I think that assessment is Dead On!! Obviously I could name a dozen more comparisons but those two draw really close in it's minimalistic garage surf punk. A friend of mine introduced me to this just before the new Melted album came out and I was instantly floored. It hit a nerve. Listening to it in the car, it made me wanna drive really fast and wiggle and shake in my seat. I did both! So many band that which can be categorized as garage rock and/or 60's revivalist have gotten a pretty mediocre over the past 5 years, so Lemons is very refreshing to hear. I am a songwriting musician and a student of music and upon first listen of this I immediately felt connected to it as if my sub-conscious had heard this somewhere before. The same thing occurred when I first heard Elliott Smith s/t in 1997 and The Beatles/Neil Young as a small child and again in 2001 when I bought White Blood Cell by The White Stripes. It only happens maybe once a decade and it feels as though the voice/music, esp the voice coming through the speakers is speaking directly to you like a close friend. I hope to hear many more releases from Ty Segall in the future.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jack White meets Dick Dale, September 9, 2009

By 

Charla Myers (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lemons (Audio CD)

Awesome, bouncy, if you like the work of Jack White (especially early White Stripes) and/or Dick Dale, then you'll enjoy this album.