Fellow Californians Ty Segall and Tim Presley (White Fence) split singing, songwriting, and musical duties on this collaborative LP, and the result is a schizophrenic collection of musical ideas—often contained within a single song. White Fence skews toward 60s-reverent pop-psych, while Segall began as a 60s/90s-influenced garage rocker and has expanded his palette over the years to include punk, psychedelia, and touches of glam and hard rock, so their meeting group contains these elements, sometimes melding, sometimes at odds. Opener “Time” is actually one of the record’s weakest tracks, as it feels more like two separate tracks—an acoustic pop number from Presley and a lumbering riff from Segall—glued together than a real collaboration (the same goes for “The Black Glove/Rag,” though it’s a stronger song, or pair of songs). Things pick up considerably from there: “I Am Not a Game” bounces back and forth between wobbly 60s organ and blistering psych-punk, but while the transition is jarring, it’s also a lot of fun. “Easy Ryder” has the laid-back swagger that makes Segall’s music so endearing, but the lead guitar (Presley’s, I believe) layered atop gives it an edge over many of his solo tracks. Conversely, “(I Can’t) Get Around You” takes Presley’s typical jangly pop and breathes some extra life into it via the addition of a solo that, if not performed by Segall, at least sounds like his style. “Crybaby” showcases Segall doing his take on 50s/early 60s sock hop rock, and it comes off like a much less threatening Cramps until the piano-plinking solo (one of Segall’s signature moves) at the end. “Scissor People” sounds like an unusually manic Ty Segall track with Presely on vocals until a barrage of change-ups in the last minute and a half. Closer “Tongues” has a disarmingly funky backbeat over which the two solo for most of the track. Admittedly, I find Segall’s solo records more interesting than White Fence’s, so my recommendations are probably going to skew towards tracks where his influence dominates; however, the record as a whole is solid, and its incongruent nature works to its advantage more often than not, as it creates a kaleidoscopic atmosphere that’s quite fun to get swept up in.
