You’ve got no plans but a good idea – get in trouble. This is the kind of night/ride/romp that starts with a kicked-in bar door and ends in a fight. A soundtrack for such an evening needs to be equal parts trash and moxie. The kind of filth that accompanies a droptop ride through the desert waiting for the goods to kick in.
This is that album.
Surprise, surprise; another Ty Segall side-project. At this point, we shouldn’t be surprised that he puts out at least three albums a year under various pseudonyms, but we also shouldn’t be surprised that his projects aren’t sonically homogenous. Yes, he has an inclination towards fuzzy, abrasive, psych-punk and these elements are present on almost all of his albums, but he doesn’t let himself get stuck in what he’s comfortable with.
The debut, self-titled album by Segall’s newest group, Gøggs, features Segall on drums, Charlie Moothart (of Fuzz) on guitar and Chris Shaw (of Ex-Cult) on vocals. While Segall did write most of the music, his role on drums makes the album more of a group effort rather than just another addition to Ty Segall’s perpetually growing repertoire. Shaw’s deep, gruff growling gives this album a distinctly 80’s California punk sound, much like Darby Crash of the Germs. Moothart, one the most underrated guitarists of modern rock, displays an array of sounds from primitive punk to complex math rock riffs which elevates this album just enough to be more than plain garage rock. Highlights of the album are “Falling In,” “She Got Harder,” and “Glendale Junkyard,” but all the songs are equally heavy and headbangable.
Recommended If You Like: Fuzz, The Cramps, The Stooges, The Germs
Recommended Tracks: Track 1 (Falling In), Track 3 (She Got Harder), Track 5 (Gøggs)
Do Not Play: None
Reviewed By Caroline Roe (backstory by Matthew Kay) on 07/20/16