by Gianluigi Marsibilio (@GMarsibilio)
Ty Segall has an essentially unstoppable production. Constructing a review through comparisons or parallels could therefore be a failed exercise. Each record is a narrative and aural unit in itself, and “Hello, Hi” is no exception. Ty Segall's relationship with composition, recording, and his way of being in the studio communicates a precise attitude that, as always, relies on an innate genuineness, present in all his material.
An excellent metaphor for describing Segall's album can be found in “Saturday Pt. 2”: "I've made a gift for you / A window to see through / Look inside". The window is a good metaphorical contrivance to try to make us concede to the idea that each song is like a secret passage inside a house. Each song is a horizon to gaze into, describing a feeling, an emotion, an object, a simple sentiment, or a complex situation.
The sound is anchored in acoustic guitars, Mikal Cronin's variations, and a groove traced from Harmonizer, released in 2021. The album's essentiality and urgency are also expressed by its length, just over thirty minutes. "Hello, Hi” has the great merit of being an immediate record, an immediateness that comes from the habitus that Ty Segall adopts in the studio. In his records, there is always a sound exploration that has also become habitual, a systematic approach, a real systematic philosophy that, if followed, has the possibility of leaving the listener perpetually amazed.
Astonishment is recurrent for the listener, both in the textual linearity and in the sound textures. The expectations of this splendid record are clear, from the very first passage in “Good Morning”: "Good morning, lady / We can stay inside / The world is where we both lay / On the pillows we are fine". “Hello, Hi” is a hymn to the simplicity of origins. An ode to a golden age that does not vanish in the sound of those who are outposts of joy.