Le Diamant Brut: Ty Segall & Follow That Bird
What’s the Deal: Now not only a film about a concerned cast of characters from Sesame Street in search of a wandering Big Bird, Follow That Bird! has taken on a new face… and sound, in Austin. They’re an all-girl, three-piece rock and roll group. With a healthy burst of energy, the group plays songs pumped up with the sounds of punk rock and 90s indie rock. Several times now, the group has caused comparisons to groups like Sleater-kinney, which isn’t bad because many critics believe them to be one of the most important rock groups of the late 90s.
The trio recently celebrated the release of their brand new 5-song EP. “Houses Under The Sea,” off the EP, is a track that’s full of unrefined, sludgy rock that helps the tune become perfectly imperfect and full of enough juice to get anyone caught up and dancing the ‘dirty bird’. With a rumbling rhythm section, ringing guitar strings and echoing high pitched vocals, Follow That Bird! are making more and more Austinites fans of the fowl with every set they play.
Something Interesting: They’ve been featured in a podcast or two of The Batcast: Austin Punk Podcast, as have plenty other local groups that should be familiar.
Other Tracks Worth Checking Out: “Line of Figments” and “Run With Knives”
What’s the Deal: As far as one-man-bands go, this guy’s pretty spot-on. Ty sits down, fans the distorted guitar chords, pumps his feet to operate the drums and tambourine, and sings his gritty, garage rock numbers into the mic off his right shoulder. The feat of doing all of this while keeping a steady beat and not losing time is impressive enough, but the fact that it’s all pretty rocking and fun raises him to the status of worth discussing over a slice of pie. That being said, however, reports from several reliable sources have confirmed that the live show is much more favorable than the recordings. The songs on Segall’s latest self-titled disc are raw and rambunctious garage rock, but at times their degree of under-production with the warbly vocals and guitar scruff comes off as too purposeful. But live, it’s much more organic and the music seems more authentic. So, in short, see him live!
“The Drag” isn’t a song that’s terribly complicated, but what do you expect from a man that’s doing like five different things at once. It is, however, a great song to lose yourself in and shake out those nasty weekdays. “You’re Not Me” is more of an ambler, but the bluesy sound of it and the haunting chorus give it some teeth.
Something Interesting: A true practitioner of the DIY album-making process, Segall released a few early recordings on cassette tape with some very stylized artwork. One tape was even a split with another band. Damn, that’s punk rock.
Other Tracks Worth Checking Out: “So Alone”
