Ty Segall has stepped on the gas again. With Possession, the Californian jack-of-all-trades returns to a sound as familiar as a faded band shirt: indie rock, somewhere between garage, melancholy and the California sun. The new songs sound like a road trip through the 2000s – past dusty highways, salty coastlines and the bittersweet feeling that life used to be simpler.
Segall is not traveling alone: together with longtime collaborator Matt Yoka and a string and brass ensemble, he brings out the big guns on the new album. But don’t worry – Possession, despite the orchestral flourishes, doesn’t sound like pathos, but rather like drive. The tracks are tight, melodic, sometimes hymn-like, and yet always raw enough not to drift into slickness.
While the relevant Reddit discussions continue to revolve around the question of whether Ty Segall influenced Thee Oh Sees or vice versa, he simply continues to deliver. Possession is not a loud bang, but a confident step backwards – or rather: inwards. And so stylistically confident that even the nostalgia doesn’t smell of retro, but of a new beginning. If you want to hear what happens when a musician doesn’t stand still but remains true to himself, this is the album for you.
Possession
