Three Bells is the latest album from the ever-busy Ty Segall that was initially recorded solo before Ty brought in Denee Segall to collaborate on 5 songs and then asked Emmet Kelly to add his magic to the files, before producer Cooper Crain called in the rest of the Freedom Band to complete the songs. The cassette version of the album contains an additional 4 songs all of which are outtakes from the Harmonizer sessions.
The album opens with The Bell that has a strummed acoustic over unrhythmic drums as Ty wonders over how you realise just what it means to be alive, as the vocals wander across the speakers as if he's a wandering minstrel who's strayed into the Prog forest and can't find his way back out.
Void is an oddly structured song, delving deep into the modern Void, that marries semi classical parts to progressive free jazz meandering, with a drummer who wants to hit as many drums and cymbals as he can find, as this metastasizes gazing deep into nothingness.
I Hear weird guitars, odd constructions, that find you deep navel gazing, trying to turn things up to eleven, anything to alleviate the pressure.
Hi Dee Dee doesn't seem to be about Mr Ramone, it doesn't have an insistent enough riff, or any real riff, as the repeating guitar figure with distended noises allows Ty to sing himself happy.
My Best Friend loves disjointed songs as much as Ty obviously does, as the guitars go round and round drawing you in, as he tells us all about that Bestie.
Reflections is the most psychedelic song on the album so far, with shimmering guitar figures, with the odd Beatles style reference musically at least, as the vocals are more of a careful mope, as the interior journey goes deeper to the darkest parts of his psyche.
Move has the first obvious bell sound on the album as well as Denee's deadpan vocals telling this tale of domestic bliss with shopping trips, as the bass goes all grungy as Denee insists, they can move together. Even as the guitars sound like they are having the fiercest of arguments.
Eggman that was one of the albums singles, it really plays with your spatial awareness, as the music jumps across the speakers, as the playground chants get going the dissolving guitars, off interjections saw through your pleas to be heard, while you munch your way through several dozen hard boiled eggs in a Cool Hand Luke kinda way.
My Room opens with a gentle bass line, pleasant guitars as Ty tells us all about his room. Watcher could be based on one of those shady government groups always looking for activity they disapprove of, as Ty hears all sorts of false bells among the doom-laden bass and guitar floating in a sea of paranoid apprehension as he sits watching.
Repetition being a central part of most musical forms can repeat ad nauseum like the bells ringing in Ty's ears but not ringing on the record, as the guitar goes meandering off, just before the next round of Repetition grinds away at you.
To You goes for cute strummed semi folk song into a synth punk weird out as he promises to come back to you once more.
Wait has a wasp like buzzing guitar part to help you Wait for what's about to happen, as Ty's vocals go all hippy dippy the music seems to get heavier as he promises to take you somewhere with real loud music.
Denee is a multi-part vocal harmony tribute to Denee with cool organ parts set against restrained drums to let the love shine through.
The album closes with What Can We Do that has sun dappled Psyche edges as Ty lets us know that he's in control and knows just what to do together with you.
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