Album Review: Fuzz - II
By Haden DeRoberts, Contributor
[In The Red; 2015]
Rating: 4/5
Key Tracks: “Time Collapse II/The 7th Terror,” “Pipe,” “Let It Live”
With II, the sophomore release from Ty Segall’s aptly named “side project” Fuzz, Segall, along with high school friends Charlie Moothart (guitar) and Chad Ubovich (drums), deliver a follow up to their 2013 full length self-titled debut. II shows the trio has evolved from a mere side project to a stand alone act. The album takes the groundwork laid in Fuzz and elevates it across the board, delivering more of everything. The volume is louder, the musicianship is tighter, the production is sharper and the album longer.
Segall, known for his prowess as a guitarist, sits behind the kit with Fuzz. This is perhaps the most prominent factor that distinguishes Fuzz from Segall's other work. This move not only allows Segall to adapt and hone his musical focus, but Moothart can add his skills to the equation as well. Where their debut in places seemed to meander, II is an album of murky yet concisely composed burners that build together with a sense of intent, even if that intention is to blend listeners’ brains into a sort of soup of frenzied euphoria.
Though Segall is the presumed “leader” of the band, it is Moothart who really shines on this record. The bombastic cohesiveness of Segall and Ubovich’s rhythm section lays a tight yet flexible framework within which Moothart is able to navigate his sludgy riffs and wild solos, highlighted on the album’s seven-minute opener “Time Collapse II/The 7th Terror.” “Let It Live” slows the tempo and brings Segall’s vocals to the front of the mix, highlighting his abilities as a singer. One of the heaviest tracks of II, “Pipe” pairs Segall’s paranoid wail with some of the album’s darkest guitar playing, in homage to the proto-metal pioneers of the 1970s.
II is a double LP, a move that demonstrates ambition from Fuzz. However, the album’s length may be one of its only weaknesses, as it comes to betray perhaps its greatest strength--its riffs. Towards its middle, the album begins to blend as it becomes more difficult to distinguish tracks. The album comes to its close with the 14-minute epic “II,” which highlights the collective abilities of each individual member, but not before getting a little lost in itself. In the end, II delivers its message, but could be better served in doing so by a one-disc format.
