Live Review: Ty Segall, The Murlocs

Stepping away from the spotlight that’s currently shining brightly on King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s latest album, Ambrose Kenny-Smith takes his other band The Murlocs for a walk tonight. And a horde of eager fans are keenly waiting for the local five-piece. Their set deals solid, bluesy, swamp-rock vibes with rocking garage undercurrents all of which are smothered by Kenny-Smith’s self-taught harmonica. Kenny-Smith may not want a Mercedes Benz, but his vocals have the rough, raw charm of a singer like Janis Joplin. Their set builds in intensity and volume as the psychedelic shapes pulled from grinding guitars completely blow the crowd away, to another planet. The Murlocs seem to play it tighter every time we’ve seen them since the release of their debut album Loopholes, which surprisingly does not seem to be attracting the same kind of attention that KG&TLW command.

Ty Segall may look like an easygoing, surfing, skater dude from California who just likes to jam, but releasing two albums a year since we first got to know him in 2007 tells us he’s no slacker. Offering up an epic setlist that features 27 short, three-minute cuts, Segall and his band deliver a thick, oozing sludge of guitar noise that drifts from basic garage to heavy psychedelics.  It’s a racket that inspires the crowd-surfing moshpit in front of the stage to completely lose themselves in the music. Much of the set is comprised of tunes from this year’s Manipulator album. Any remaining gaps are filled with songs culled from his massive back catalogue; but they are played in such a way that feels like they could have been recorded for this same album. Although there ‘s a certain darkness about Segall’s music, this is balanced out with an infectious joyousness that comes when he indulges in wild riffing solos  or lays out the melodic pop hooks that reel us all in. Segall’s irrepressible smile throughout suggests he’s totally enjoying this gig. 

By the time we get to encores, Segall lays down a little humour with a parody of Black Sabbath’s Paranoid, which is promptly followed by the Stairway To Heaven riff before Segall claims he “loves classic rock”. A proper blast of primal rock rounded off with Caesar and The Drag make for one exhilarating evening in the company of Ty Segall and his band.